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PAPERS
OF THE
BRITISH SCHOOL AT ROME.
PAPERS
OF THE
BRITISH SCHOOL AT ROME.
PAPERS
OF THE
BRITISH SCHOOL AT ROME
Vol. I.
.41
« «
■♦k »■
• - ' •• •
;■,>•», w »•• • •,^«
• - •
PRINTED FOR THE SUBSCRIBERS AND SOLD ON THEIR BEHALF BY
MACMILLAN & CO., Limited
LONDON
1902
Richard Clay and Sons, Limited,
london and bungay.
• *
• • • •
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PREFACE.
The title of this volume sufficiently indicates its character. The
two monographs which it contains are the first fruits of the work done by
the newly founded British School at Rome, and the hope of the Committee
is that they will be followed in due course by many other similar papers,
and will form a series not un^yorthy to be compared with the * Melanges ' *
of the French School at Rome.
Of the two papers, that by the Director on S. Maria Antiqua will no
doubt be found the most interesting by the majority of readers, but
Mr. Ashby's possesses an importance of its own as a contribution to the
task of reconstructing the Roman Campagna as it was before desolation
and silence fell upon it.
Taken together the papers aptly illustrate the variety and richness of
the field which Rome and Italy offer to the student, and suggest the kind
of work which a properly equipped British School should be able to do for
the advancement of learning.
H. F. Pelham,
Chairman of (he Committu,
ffi^f
Britlsb Scbool at IRome.
Ejecutipe Committee
Prof. H. F. PELHAM {Chairman,)
Prof. Percy Gardner
Mr. F. Haverfield
Mr. G. A. Macmillan
Mr. G. W. Prothero
Prof. J. S. Reid
Sir Rennell Rodd, K.C.M.G.
Mr. A. H. Smith
Dr. Charles Waldstein
Mr, S. E. Spring-Rice, C.B. {Hon, Treasurer^
Mr. W. LORING {Hon, Secretary,)
H)itectot
Mr. G. McN. RUSHFORTH, M.A., of Oriel College, Oxford.
This School, projected in 1899, was opened in the Spring of 1901.
It has been modelled, in many respects, on the existing British School at Athens ;
and the two Schools will (it is'hoped) be ultimately placed under the control of a single
Committee.
The School is intended, first, as a training-ground for students fresh from the
Universities and other educational institutions ; secondly, as a centre round which more
mature students may group themselves for purposes of systematic research ; and
thirdly, as a source of information and advice for visitors desiring to pursue serious
studies in Rome.
The province of the School is not purely archaeological, but includes all periods of
Roman and Italian history, art, antiquities and literature.
The excavation of ancient sites, which has formed an important part of the work
of the School at Athens, is excluded in Italy by the rules of the Italian Government.
But in other respects the work of the Roman School will be more varied, and not less
important, than that of the Athenian, since the range of studies which centre in Rome
is wider, including for example Palaeography, Christian as well as Classical Antiquities,
and the Art and Architecture of the Renaissance.
At present the annual income of the School is less than £^QO, much of which is
precarious ; and it is estimated that an income of ;£^iooo will be required to secure
permanence and efficiency.
Further information will be supplied by the Honorary Secretary, W. LORiNG, Esq.,
2, Hare Court, Temple, E.C., or by any other member of the Executive Committee.
Subscriptions and donations are urgently needed. They should be paid to the
credit of the "British School at Rome," at the London and Westminster Bank,
Lothbury, E.C. ; or to the Honorary Treasurer, S. E. Spring-Rice, Esq., C.B.,
I, Bryanston Place, W.
LI BR I DESIDERATI
The Library of the British School at Rome, mainly thanks to the
liberality of Dr. Steele, of the Trustees of the British Museum, of the
Universities of Oxford and Cambridge, of the French Ministry of
Public Instruction, and of various publishers and other donors, is now
approaching a total of one thousand volumes.
As the funds at the disposal of the School do not allow of the
purchase of many expensive works of reference, the Committee have
printed the following provisional list of books of that class which are
urgently needed : —
Acta Sanctorum. 45 vols.
ANNALI, MoNUMENTI, & BULLETTINO DEL InSTITUIO
DI CORRISPONDENZA ArCHEOLOGICA. 1829-1885.
Archaeologia. From 1804. 57 vols.
Bernoulli, Romische Ikonographie. 2 vols.
Brunx-Bruckmann, Denkmaler Griechischer
USD Romischer Sculptur.
Brunet, Manuel du Libraire (and Supplement).
8 vols. (Paris, 1860-80).
Bullettino di Archeologia Cristiana. Series
I.-V. 1863-94.
Bullettino dellaCommissioneArcheologicaCom-
unale ni Roma. From 1872.
Canina, Edifizii di Roma. 4 vols.
Chatelain, Tal^ographie des Classiques Latins.
CicHORius, Reliefs der Trajanssauls.
Cohen, M^.dailles Imp^riales. 8 vols.
Corpus Inscrii»tionum Graecarum, ed. Boeckh.
4 vols. And of the new issue, especially Kaibel,
Inscriptiones Gkaecae Siciliae et Italiae.
Corpus Scriptorum IIistoriae Byzantinae (Bonn).
47 vols.
D'Agincourt, Histoire de l'Art par les Monu-
mkns. 4 vols. There are also editions in English
and Italian.
Db Rossi, Musaici Cristiani delle Chiese di
Roma.
De VoGtiift, Syrie Centrale. 2 vols.
Dictionary of National Biography.
Du Cange, Glossarium Mediae et Infimae
Latinitatis (1883). 10 vols.
Eckhel, Doctrina Numorum (2nded.). 8 vols.
FiAZERy Pausanias. 6 vols.
FtTRTWANGLER, DiE ANTIKEN GrMMEN.
Geymullbr, Projets primitifs pour St. Pierre.
Hatn, Repertorium Bibliographicum. 4 vols.
Journal of Hellenic Studies. From 1880.
Le Bas, Foucart, and Waddington. Voyage
Archeologique.
Mansi, Conciliorum Amplissima Collectio. 31
vols. Or the Edition of Labl)e-Cossart.
MoNUMENTI ANTICHI DELLA AcCADEMIA DEI LlNCEI,
From 1892. II vols.
Monuments et MfeMOiRES (Fondation Piot). 7 vols.
Moroni, Dizionario di Erudizione Storico-Eccle-
siastica. 60 vols.
Muratori, ScRirroREs Rerum Italicarum. 28 vols.
NoTiziE degli Scavi di Antichita. From 1878.
OmONT, FAC-SIMILES des MANUSCRITS GrECS DATfiS
de la bibliotheque nation ale.
Pauly-Wissowa, Real-Encyclopadie.
Petersen, and others. Die Marcussaule.
Pistolesi, II Vatic ano Descritto. 8 vols.
Revue Archeologique. From i860.
ROHAULT DE FlEURY, LE LaTRAN AU MoYEN AGE.
LA Messe. 8 vols.
))
))
Romische Quartelschrift fur Christliche
Alterthumskunde. From 1887.
Smith, Dictionary of Greek and Roman Anti-
quities (3ri ed.).
Smith, Dictionary of Classical Biography.
,, Geography.
Christian Antiquities.
,, Biography.
Stephanus, Thesaurus Linguae Gkaecae.
Ughellus, Italia Sacra. 10 vols.
Vasari, Vite (ed. Milanesi). 9 vols.
Zangemeister-Wattenbach, Exempla Codicum
Latinorum.
July, 1902.
CONTENTS.
PACK
Preface. By Prof. H. F. Pelham v
1. G. McN. RusHFORTH. S. Maria Antiqua i
2. T. AsHBY, J UN. Classical Topography of the Roman Cam
pagna. — I. 125
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
S. Maria Antiqua: —
PACK
Plan of S. Maria Antiqua . . • i8
Fig. I. A. Roman Houses from the Capitoline Plan. B, S. Maria
Antiqua : The Roman Building 22
Fig. 2. S. Sophia, Salonica .... • . . . . 24
Fig. 3. Plan and Section of Base of Altar in the Chapel of SS. Quiricus
and Julitta 39
Fig. 4. Sketch showing Position of Hands with Flower . . . 51
Fig. 5. Pattern of Intersecting Circles . . . . • . . 64
Fig. 6. Pavement m the Sanctuary 75
Fig. 7. Section and Plan of Graves in S. Maria Antiqua . . .105
Fig. 8. The Descent into Hell (Harl. MS. 1810) 115
Fig. 9. * The Descent into Heir (S. Maria Antiqua) . . . .116
Fig. 10. The Descent into Hell (Add. MS. 19352) 117
Fig. II. Hades (Add. M.S. 19352) 118
Fig. 12. The Descent into Hell (Sculpture in Bristol Cathedral) . . 119
The Classical Topography of the Roman Campagna : —
Fig. I. Tufa Quarries (Grotte di Cervara) 142
Fig. 2. Pavement of an Ancient Road 167
Fig. 3. Plan of Tomb near Casale Tor Angela 169
Fig. 4. Ponte di Nona, N. side 171
Fig. 5. Fragment of Pottery from Temple near Ponte di Nona . . 173
Fig. 6. Painting in the ** Grotta di Saponara" i 79
Fig. 7. The Temple at Gabii 1 83
Fig. 8. Plan of Temple, Gabii 1 84
List of Illustrations.
The Classical Topography of the Roman Campagna {continued) —
Moulding of Podium at back of Temple, Gabii .
Plan of ihe Forum, Gabii
Ancient Road, Gabii
Hut Village, Gabii
Angle of City Wall, Gabii
Apse of S. Primitivus, Gabii ......
Via Praenestina at I Cancelletti
Ponte di Terra
Ponte Amato
Bridge over Fosso del Giardinetto
Inscription from I Trugli
Bronze Plummet from I Trugli
Architectural Fragments at Thirteenth Milestone
Wall below Monte Compatri
Sarcophagus and Architectural Fragments, Villa Rospigliosi
Fig.
9-
Fig.
ro.
Fig.
II.
Fig
12.
Fig.
13-
Fig.
14.
Fig.
15-
Fig.
16.
Fig.
17-
Fig.
18.
Fig.
19
Fig.
20.
Fig.
21.
Fig
22.
Fig.
23-
PACK
186
(90
192
195
200
201
209
233
247
248
250
261
268
MAPS,
Key Map.
Legend of Detail Maps.
I — VIII. Detail Maps.
PAPERS OF THE BRITISH SCHOOL AT ROME.
Vol. I. No. i.
THE CHURCH OF S. MARIA ANTIQUA.
BY
G. McN. RUSHFORTH, M.A.
Director of the School,
LONDON: 1902.
PRELIMINARY NOTE.
In explanation of the fact, which might at first sight cause surprise,
that a paper which consists mainly of a description of paintings is not
. accompanied by reproductions of the pictures themselves, it is necessary to
state that the photographs and other methods by which the appearance
of the paintings has been, so far as possible, preserved being the property
of .the Italian authorities, cannot be published until the official account
of the excavations has been issued. The present description must be
regarded chiefly as a contribution to our knowledge of Byzantine icono-
graphy as it was understood and practised at Rome in the eighth century.
It may be added that the damaged condition of all but a few of the
pictures makes a careful description almost as valuable for iconographical
purposes as reproduction, and that their interest consists rather in the
choice and treatment of subjects than in their artistic character.^
* Among those who have assisted me I feel bound to record my peculiar obligations to Comm.
Giacomo Boni, the Director of the Excavations in the Forum, whose kindness and sympathy have
in every way made my task easier, and also to the Rev. F. E. Brightman of the Pusey House and
Mr. C. H. Turner of Magdalen College, Oxford, who took the trouble to look over the proofs, and to
whom I am indebted for many suggestions and corrections. Their identification of the fragmentary
Patristic inscriptions, and especially Mr. Brightman's discovery of the principle on which they were
selected, which is important for determining the chronology of the paintings, may without exaggera-
tion be described as brilliant. Mr. C. H. Blakiston of the British School at Rome has also given
me much practical assistance which has contributed in no small degree to such accuracy and com-
pleteness as this account possesses.
B
INTRODUCTION.
The present series of excavations in the Roman Forum, apart from the
topographical importance of the results, will always be notable for the
information which it has supplied about periods of which our previous know-
ledge was scanty. On the one hand there is the evidence which has come
to light about the culture of the communities which first settled on the
soil of Rome. And at the other end of the history of the Ancient City,
the discovery of the church of S. Maria Antiqua has revealed to us the
system on which an ordinary Roman church was decorated in the eighth
century. That age, of the greatest historical importance, in which Rome
emancipated herself from the Byzantine dominion and became the religious
capital of the West, was one of the periods where we were poorest in all
those kinds of evidence which are called antiquities. Rich as it was
originally in contemporary monuments and treasures of art, the destruc-
tions and reconstructions which have gone on down to modern times,
have obliterated nearly every trace of the outward appearance and sur-
roundings of life in Byzantine Rome. It is on this, to us, mysterious
world of the seventh and eighth centuries, so dimly revealed by the meagre
historical literature of the time, that a welcome, if partial, ray of light has
been shed by the discovery of S. Maria Antiqua. From the ruins of an
abandoned church, which never knew the hand of a restorer, the religious
interests and tendencies of the Romans of those days, their standardsjof
art and the kind of pictures they were accustomed to see, their dress and
personal appearance, their manner of burial, have been brought home to
us more vividly than they had ever been previously.
Before proceeding to describe the remains, it will be desirable to sum
up what we know of the history of the church from literary sources. At
the same time we may note how far the remains bear out that history and
in what respects they add to our knowledge. It is no longer necessary to
refer to bygone controversies about the site and identity of the church, for
an end was put to them by the discovery, on December 20th, 1900, of
the inscription giving the name of the church, which will be described in
its proper place.
B 2
4 The British School at Rome.
The earliest mention of S. Maria Antiqua that we possess occurs in a
list of Roman churches, which was made in the latter part of the seventh
or at the beginning of the eighth century.^ When we turn to the Liber Pontifi-
calls we are met by a similar result. It is under John VII. (705-707) that the
church appears for the first time, and then not, as is so often the case with
such notices, in connexion with a restoration of the building, but with its
decoration. Basilicam itaque ^sanctae Dei genetrids qui Antiqua vacatur
pictura decoravit? It is difficult to believe that the Liber Pontificalis^ with
its copious information about the ancient Roman churches, would have
been silent about this one if it had existed very long before. If we ask
whether the remains as now discovered throw any light on the origin of the
church, the principal fact of which we have to take account is that it was
established in an ancient building, probably of a public and secular
character. Now the practice of converting disused public buildings into
churches in the central parts of the City, and more particularly in the
Forum and its neighbourhood, did not begin before the sixth century, and,
generally speaking, not before the event which most definitely marks the
end of the ancient world in Rome — the Byzantine conquest.^ The
earliest case is the foundation of SS. Cosma e Damiano in the Templum
Sacrae Urbis by Felix IV. (526-530). The next is S. Maria Rotunda in
the Pantheon, by Boniface IV. (608-615). Then comes S. Adriano in the
Curia under Honorius I. (625-638). The conversion of the Temple of
Antoninus and Faustina into S. Lorenzo in Miranda no doubt belongs to
the same age. With this antecedent probability that S. Maria Antiqua did
not exist before 550 the remains are perfectly consistent. The earliest
dated object which can possibly be connected with the church belongs to
the year 572 (p. 108). Some detached architectural fragments may be
rather earlier, but their relation to the church is uncertain. Everything
else is later.*
' Printed by De Rossi in Rotiia SotUrraruay i. 143, from the MS. at Vienna (No. 795).
'^ Lib. Pont. i. 385. References to the Liber Pontificalis are given by the pages of the edition
ofMgr. Duchesne (2 vols. Paris, 1886-1892).
* Duchesne, Le Forum Chretien ^ 42.
* I lay no stress on the fact that S. Maria Antiqua was a diaconiay for there is no record of the
date of its institution as such, and a diaconia was sometimes established in a pre-existing church.
But it may be pointed out how consistent with the date assigned above to the church (or even a
later one) are the conclusions of Duchesne with regard to the dicuoniae, viz. (i) that they first make
their appearance in the seventh century, and (2) that they arc distinguished from the older presbyteral
titles by their situation in the heart of the City and, frequently, in disused ancient buildings ; both
indications of a relatively late date : Melanges d^Arch. et d^Hist. 1887, 239-242.
S. Maria Antiqua. S
There is, in fact, only one argument for ascribing to the church an
earlier date than the sixth century, and that is its name. A church known
in the seventh century as Antiqua^ must, it is suggested, have already had
a long existence, especially when we remember that one of the oldest
churches in Rome, S. Maria Maggiore, was also dedicated to the Virgin,
at least since the time of Xystus III. (432-440). Must not S. Maria
Antiqua be older still ? ^
No arguments drawn merely from the name can have any weight
against the facts stated above. That name, it must be confessed, has not
been satisfactorily explained. The epithet " old " applied in this way to
buildings is of course relative. The natural usage would be to call a
church " Old St. Mary's " when a younger church of the same name had to
be distinguished from* it. But the difficulty here is that, as we shall see,
" New St. Mary's " was the name of the church which replaced the older
one in the ninth century. They never existed side by side.* The title,
then, must distinguish the church in some way from the other dedications
to the Virgin in Rome. The seventh or eighth-century list of Roman
churches, to which we have already referred as containing the earliest
mention of S. Maria Antiqua, begins with the following order : the
Lateran Basilica, S. Maria Maior, S. Anastasia, S. Maria Antiqua, S. Maria
Rotunda, S. Maria Transtiberis. Mgr. Duchesne has pointed out that while
the list is naturally headed by the two greater Basilicas within the walls,
followed by the Court Church or Chapel Royal of the Byzantine age, the
order of the remainder is that neither of dignity nor of date. S. Maria
in Trastevere existed at least since the middle of the fourth century, and it
was a presbyteral title, whereas S. Maria Antiqua was only a diaconia. But
the original name of the church beyond the Tiber was the Titulus or Basilica
lulii or Callisti, S. Maria trans Tiberim does not appear before the
seventh century.*- So that, if we were to assume (as we have shown that we
are warranted in doing) that S. Maria Antiqua was founded in the latter
half of the sixth century, we might suppose that the churches are given in
the order of the dates when they were dedicated to the Virgin : viz. S. Maria
* H. Grisar, Civilth Cattolica^ Jan. 1901, p. 232. O. Marucchi, Nttovo BulUtino di Archeologia
Cristiana^ vi. (1900), 313.
' On the other hand, pilgrims who visited the Vatican Basilica in the eighth century passed
from the shrine sanctae Mariac quae antiqua diciiur . , . . ad sanctam Mariam quae nova dicitur.
Dc Rossi, Inscr, Chr, ii. p. 228.
• Melanges d* Archiologie et d"* Histoire, 1 897, 28 j^^.
6 The British School at Rome.
Antiqua, and S. Maria Rotund^, ab initio in the sixth and early seventh
century, and S. Maria in Trastevere on acquiring the title in the course of
the seventh century. We might then go on to conjecture that S. Maria
Antiqua was so called because it was the first church in Rome to be dedi-
cated from the beginning to the Virgin, and this would imply that, until
the creation of other churches with the same name, it was known as S.
Maria simply. Unfortunately this is true of an older church, for when the
Basilica' Liberiana (S. Maria Maggiore) was reconstructed by Xystus III.
(432-440), it was formally dedicated to the Virgin, as is shown by the
contemporary inscription beginning : —
Virgo Maria tibi Xystus nova templa dicavi ; ^
and for long afterwards it was regularly described as 5. Maria simply,
because it was the only church in Rome dedicated to the Virgin. By the
seventh century, on the other hand, it always has the qualification Maior
or Ad Praesepe^ hccsiuse it had then become necessary to distinguish it.^
Unless then we can accept the incredible suggestion that a public building,
probably part of the Imperial Palace, was converted into a church, and
that church dedicated to St. Mary, before the second quarter of the fifth
century, we are apparently brought to the conclusion that S. Maria Antiqua
was not so called because it was the oldest dedication to the Virgin in
Rome. No other plausible explanation has been offered.^
From the Liber Pontificalis we learn something about the history of the
church in the eighth and ninth centuries, and we are able to supplement
these notices from the remains which have now been discovered. As we
have already mentioned, it iswith John VII. (705-707) that our information
begins. He stands out in a dark age as the author of various artistic works
in Rome, of which the most important were the mosaics of the Chapel of
the Virgin in St. Peter's, now scattered or destroyed.* His Life tells us
that, among other churches which he adorned with pictures, basilicam sanctae
Dei genetricis qui Antiqua vocatur pictura decoravit^ illicque ambonem noviter
^ De Rossi, /;/jrr. Chr. ii. p. 71.
^ Duchesne, I.e. p. 30.
' Duchesne (/.r. p. 29) makes two suggestions : (i) That the name refers to the diaconia as
being, presumably, the oldest : but we know nothing about its precise date. (2) That it belongs to
a picture in the Church, citing a statement of the Liber Pontifiealis (i. p. 419) that Gregory III.
encased in silver imaginem sanete Dei Genetricis antiquam. So Grisar, Civiltd. Caftoliea^ March,
1901, p. 738. But the Liber Pontijicalis gives no clue as to where the picture was.
* Lib, Poftt, i. 385.
S. Maria Antiqua. 7
fecit} We shall see what is left of these works when we come to describe
the remains (p. 65). The Life, continuing, tells us a fact which explains
the interest taken by John in an otherwise not very important church. Et
super eandem ecclesiam episcopiutn quantum ad se construere nialuit^ illicque
pontificati sui tetnpus vitam finivit. John was the son of a Byzantine
official, Plato, the curator of the Imperial Palace at Rome, and after his
father's death in 687 he placed an epitaph over his tomb in S. Anastasia,
which contained the following lines :
Post ergo multiplices quas prisca palatia Rotnae
praestiterant curaSy longo refecta gradu,
pergit ad aetemi divina palatia regis
sumere cum meritis praemia firma Dei?-
The staircase restored by Plato must not be confused with the incline
communicating with the church (p. 21), which could not well be described
^sgradus. It refers no doubt to the long flight of steps which can still be
traced descending from the northern angle of the Palatine to the Forum.
It is possible that John may simply have restored and enlarged his father's
house, when he is said to have built himself a private residence {episcopium
quantum ad se) at this corner of the Palatine.^ In any case the proximity
of the church, with the convenient access provided by the incline above
mentioned, and the special devotion to the Virgin of John, " the servant of
Mary," as he calls himself on his monuments (p. 91), are amply sufficient
to explain his interest in S. Maria Antiqua.
But though John VII. may have been the first to decorate the church
as a whole, the remains show (p. 67) that the Sanctuary at least had not
been left bare before his time. Moreover, as we shall see (p. 72), this
earlier series of paintings contains an important piece of evidence as to its
date. Four Fathers of the Church are represented with quotations from
their works ; and, given the circumstances of time and place, we can hardly
doubt that they have been selected because they were cited as witnesses to
the Orthodox Faith at the Lateran Council of 649 which condemned the
Monothelete heresy. It is difficult to believe that John VII. would, about
the year 706, have replaced these pictures by others if they had been very
^ Lib. PonL i. 385.
' Dc Rossi, Inscr, Chr. ii. p. 442, 1. 9.
' Cf. Lanciani, Ruins and Excavations of Ancient Rome, 156, where the references are given.
8 The British School at Rome.
recent, and we may therefore suppose that they were executed shortly
after the Council, say between 650 and 655. But we shall find (p. 67) that
these paintings of the middle of the seventh century had themselves been
substituted for an earlier series. Now if the pictures of the middle of the
seventh century were replaced after about fifty years by the work of
John VII., and if the latter was partly replaced in its turn, as we shall see
(below and p. 73), again after an interval of fifty years, it seems not un-
reasonable to find in this regularly recurring interval of time a clue to the
approximate date of the earliest decorations of the church, which must
have followed, though perhaps not immediately, on its foundation.^ And
this will take us back to the year 600, which is not very far removed from
the date which, on other grounds, we had already suggested for the
foundation of the church.
To return to the later history of the church, from about the middle
of the eighth century onwards a new series of decorative works, in part
replacing those of John VII., was carried out in different parts of
the building. One portion of these is distinctly associated with an
official of the diaconia^ Theodotus, in the time of Pope Zacharias
(741—752) ; and another with Paul I. (757-7^7)- It is also possible,
as we shall see (p. 103), that Hadrian I., the greatest benefactor to the
Roman churches at the end of the eighth century, did not forget S. Maria
Antiqua, though the " Book of the Popes " contains no record of the kind.
With Hadrian's successor, Leo III. (795-816), we get another historical
reference to the church, for his Life tells us that he placed there super
altare maiore cyburmm ex argento purissimo pens, lib, CCXII? About fifty
years laler the church had been abandoned. The first we hear of the change
is under Benedict III. (855-858), whose Life informs us that he bestowed
various gifts /;/ basilica beatae Dei genitricis qui vacatur Antiqua^ quant a
fundamentis Leo papa viam iuxta Sacram construxerat? It is obvious that
this cannot refer to the church under the Palatine, which has never been
reconstructed and is not on the Via Sacra. In the life of Benedict's successor,
Nicholas I. (858-867), we get the explanation. Ecclesiam autem Dei
genet ricis semperque virginis Mariac que prim itus Antiqua nunc autem Nova
vacatur quam dominus Leo II II, papa a fundamentis construxerat sed picturis
* Cf. the case oi S. Maria Nova mentioned below ; built before 855, not decorated before
858.
*•* Lib. r>?nt. ii. 14.
• Lib. Pont, ii. 145. There is no mention of the (;\ct in the Life of Leo IV.
S. Maria Antiqua. 9
earn tninime decoraveraty iste beatissimtis praesul piilchrts ac variis fecit
depingi coloribus} S. Maria Nova is the church, better known by its modern
name of S. Francesca Romana, overlooking the Forum, and built in the
precincts of the Temple of Venus and Rome. It appears then that, for some
reason, in the time of Leo IV. (847-855) the diaconia of S. Maria Antiqua
was transferred to a new building on the Via Sacra, where it still preserved
its name until perhaps popular usage demanded that the new structure
should be called S. Maria Nova. What that reason was, the condition of
the church revealed by the excavations of 1900 sufficiently declares. It
was crushed and buried by the fall of the Imperial buildings overhanging
the church on the north-western edge of the Palatine. It is improbable that
after the disappearance of the Byzantine power in Rome in the course of
the eighth century those buildings were kept in repair, so that natural decay
would be enough to account for the result. But it is perhaps more than a
coincidence that in 847, under Leo IV., Rome suffered from an earthquake
of peculiar severity. Hums beati tempore praesulis terre motus in urbe Roma
per indictionem f actus est X. ita ut omnia elementa concussa viderentur ab
omnibus?- Though the church was abandoned, its burial was probably not
immediate or complete.^ Everything valuable in the way of furniture and
fittings was removed, and little was left beyond the pictures on the walls,
which have thus survived to show us, in spite of their damaged and
fragmentary condition, the manner in which a Roman church was decorated
in the eighth century. The outer hall or vestibule did not at first share the
fate of the church, and certainly remained in use till a much later period, as
is shown by fragments of paiitting which it contains (pp. 99, loi.) But the
rise in the level of the floor, and the desperate attempts to prop up the
vault (p. 106), show that here too occupation was maintained with
increasing difficulty. Perhaps we shall be safe in dating the final burial
of the whole structure from the fire which devastated this part of Rome
on its capture by the Normans in 1084, an event which marks the
disappearance of the ancient levels in the Forum and its surroundings.*
It may be well to conclude this sketch of the history of S. Maria by a
few words about the more recent churches which existed in the same neigh-
* Lib. Pont. ii. 158.
* Lib. Pont. ii. 108. The tenth indiction ended on Aug. 31st, 847.
' Perhaps this accounts for the repetition in the outer parts of the church of paintings found
also in the interior (cf. esp. p. 1 10).
* Lanciani, Ruins and Excavations^ 245.
lo The British School at Rome.
bourhood. Even since Duchesne's convincing statement of the evidence,^
attempts have been made, in the light of the new discoveries, to connect
these later names with a tradition of the buried building, in our judgment
quite without success.^ There was no need to preserve a tradition of the
church, for it existed bodily on its new site. S. Francesca Romana, and
not (till the other day) S. Maria Liberatrice, is the modern representative of
S. Maria Antiqua. The Einsiedeln Itinerary, of the ninth century, is the
last document which notices the church in its original position.* When we
come to the twelfth century, the guide book known as the Mirabilia Urbis
Romae has the following account of the buildings in this district Palatium
Catiline^ ubi fuit ecclesia S, Antonii^ iuxta quant est loais qui dicitur
infernus. The latter is explained by the story of the lacus Curtius^ and
then the account continues : ibi est templum Veste ubi dicitur inferius
draco cubare^ siait legitur in vita S, Silvestri} If we could be sure that
by the palatium Catiline the Temple of Augustus was meant, we might
suppose that the first statement was a genuine tradition of the use of the
outer hall as a church after the original S. Maria Antiqua had been destroyed.
As we shall see, there are remains of late painting with the story of St.
Antony in this part and, perhaps, in the adjacent building (pp. 95, 113 n.),
and Greek monks perhaps continued to occupy the interior of the Temple
of Augustus which communicated with it. In any case, it is clear that
by the twelfth century there was no longer a church of St. Antony in
existence. Quite distinct from this, though not far off, was a spot
popularly connected with the legend of St. Silvester, and known as
Infernus or "Hell." Duchesne has shown -how the scene of the original
story of the dragon of the Capitol in the fifth-century Life of Silvester,
was, by a misunderstanding, transferred in the Middle Ages to the Temple
of Vesta under the Palatine.* The legend bore fruit, for in a fourteenth-
century catalogue of the Roman churches we hear for the first time of
.V. Maria de Inferno^ and this church continued to exist under its more
nuKlern name of S. Maria Liberatrice until it was removed for the purpose
^ .1A'/.i//^r.\, lSi)7, I5.V7'
■^ A.V M«uiuvln. in A'. AW/. Ai\h, Cr, vii. (1900), 319; Grisar, CiviU^ Cattolica^ March,
l«K)i, 7,^0 (•»«KU^''*iJ">i ^'^"i ^^^^' picture iloscrilxxl Mow, p. 102, marks the site of .S. Sihester
in /iM/).
' Ionian, /'.'/N^-^.i/^^/Vi ii. 055; Uiiichs. CotUx Topographicus^ 75.
* Ionian, i\p, ii. ()35.
* .1A'/.i#<Vi'v, 1897, n, s^if,
* MS. ill Turin. Printcti in ArmcUini, Ckusi di Roma^ 53.
S. Maria Antiqua. ii
of making the present excavations. It is not till even later (the sixteenth
century) that 5. Silvester in lacu makes its appearance.^ Perhaps, as
Duchesne suggests, it was never a separate church, but only a popular
name for 5*. Maria de Inferno^ and a survival of the legend which had
become attached to the spot.
Let us now consider, as briefly as possible, how the discovery of the
church has added to our knowledge of the times to which it belongs.
Those times, it is needless to insist, were distinguished by the prevalence
of Byzantine influences in Rome. Greek officials, Greek clergy, Greek
monks, Greek residents, contributed to form, as it were, a Byzantine
army of occupation ; they invaded the churches and even the Papal Chair,
and naturally they brought with them the ideas, the language, the culture
of Constantinople, the capital of European civilisation.^ And the first
impression which the interior of S. Maria Antiqua makes on an observer
familiar with the older Roman churches, is that of the prominence of
things Greek. Greek inscriptions, Greek costumes, Greek saints, meet the
eye everywhere. And it is not merely that S. Maria reflects the contem-
porary Byzantine influences in Rome generally. We must remember
that it is structurally connected with the Palatine, the seat of the Byzan-
tine government ; that it is a stone's throw from S. Anastasia, the official
Byzantine church, and on the edge of the Greek quarter, which had
its centre in the not far distant church of S. Maria in Cosmedin.^
Brought thus by the circumstances of both time and place within the
range of Byzantine influence, the church was decorated in that style of art
which is most conveniently and correctly described as Byzantine. But a
closer acquaintance with the pictures shows us that this is Byzantine art
with a difference. Just as, politically, the Rome of the seventh and eighth
centuries was dependent on Constantinople and yet successfully struggling
for independence, so the wall paintings of S. Maria Antiqua show us a
Byzantine art transplanted to the West and acquiring something of a local
character in consequence. It must not be supposed that this partial
^ Jordan, Topographies ii. 500; Duchesne, l,c. 17. If it were not for the difficulties of date,
one might have been inclined to look for S. Silvester in the building (L on the plan : cf. p. 108)
between the entrance to the church and the Lacus luturnae.
* Diehl, itudes sur l"* AdUninistration Byzantine dans tExarchai de Ravenne^ 241 sqq,
» Dichl, 278.
12 The British School at Rome.
independence implied any fresh artistic impulse: quite the reverse.
Centuries had to elapse before a true Italian art could arise, and in the age
with which we are concerned Rome was far inferior in culture to Con-
stantinople, and S. Maria was, after all, a church of secondary importance
and therefore hardly likely to contain the best work of the time. We must
rather look for this local character in the elementary nature of much of
the art in the church, in the simplicity and naivete of some of the repre-
sentations, in the introduction of a certain number of local saints, in the
use of Latin alternating with Greek in the inscriptions, and a Latin which
is popular and the product of the soil. And further, this independence
manifests itself in the general decorative treatment of the church, and the
selection and distribution of subjects. Previously our knowledge of art in
Rome between the sixth and the tenth centuries was derived almost
entirely from the mosaics which have survived in the sanctuaries of a few
favoured churches, and here the limited scope and the uniformity of the
subjects rendered the information rather barren. S. Maria was not a
church of sufficient importance to receive the most costly form of decora-
tion, viz., mosaics ; but, on the other hand, in its wall paintings we have,
for the first time, a suggestion of the scheme for the complete decoration
of an ordinary Roman church in that age. A comparison obviously
suggests itself with the scheme laid down in the well-known Byzantine
Manual or Guide to Painting which, though its present form does not go
back beyond the twelfth century, probably embodies an older tradition.^
Whiles. Maria contains much which is explained or illustrated by the
Manual, it is also clear that the decoration of the Roman church represents
partly an earlier stage of development when there was greater liberty in the
choice of arrangement of subjects, partly an entire departure from the
principles on which the Byzantine scheme is based. The difference
between them is one which essentially distinguishes the churches of the
East from those of the West, both in decoration and in internal arrangements.
The typical Byzantine church forms a unity in which every part is sub-
ordinate to the whole, and the pictorial decoration is equally based on a
single and consistent scheme. In plan, S. Maria, as we shall see pres-
ently (p. 23), curiously resembles a Byzantine church, and its walls were
completely and, to a considerable extent, so far as we can judge, systemati-
^ First published by Didron, Manuel d^Iconographie ChrHienne (Paris, 1845). English
translation by M. Stokes, Christian Iconography (London, 1891), ii, id^sqq. There is also a
modem Greek edition (Athens, 1885).
S. Maria Antiqua. 13
cally treated with painting. The Western mediaeval church, with its
independent chapels and side-altars clustering round and sometimes
even invading the central nave and choir, and making any uniform
system of decoration impossible, is the very opposite. S. Maria Antiqua
is in process of transformation from an Eastern into a Western church.
To start with we have a Byzantine plan and Byzantine consistency
of decoration, at least in the main parts of the church. But it is
clear that the unity both of arrangements and of decoration is giving
way to a different conception. Just as in a Byzantine church, we
find the bemay where the altar stood in front of the apse, flanked by
the liturgical chambers known as the prothesis and diaconicon \ but of
the latter, one at least had become by the middle of the eighth century
a side-chapel of the Western type with its own altar, and dedicated
to the cult of special saints. And in other parts of the church the uni-
formity of the original scheme of decoration has been broken into by the
construction of altars, sometimes enclosed by screens which practically
create separate chapels. The base of one may still be seen placed against
the wall in the body of the church (p. 36), and the frequent occurrence of
niches, containing painted figures of the Virgin or Saints, suggests the
presence of others.^ In another respect S. Maria Antiqua has not yet
reached an important Western development. Next to the side-altars the
most striking features in a mediaeval or modern Italian church are the
sepulchral monuments. By the eighth century, as we shall see, the dead
had invaded even the innermost parts of the church, but in nearly every
case they were laid out of sight beneath the floor, and no memorial,
except no doubt an epitaph, marked their graves. It is obvious that it was
impossible in churches decorated after the Byzantine fashion with a com-
plete decorative scheme covering the whole surface of the walls, to intro-
duce architectural monuments which would have destroyed the connexion.
At the very latest stage of the history of the building, perhaps as late as
the eleventh century, we see the beginnings of the abandonment of the
principle, when loculi were cut in the side-walls, and therefore in the midst
of the painted surface, which had then to be re-arranged so as to leave
room for the painted epitaph which covered the recess (p. loi). But in
the period with which we are chiefly concerned, when the church was still
* The multiplication of altars in this period is illustrated by the inscription of Gregory III.
(731-741) in St. Paul's without the Walls, regulating the oblations at the six daily masses. De
Rossi, LC.R, ii, p. 423, n. 41. Grisar, Analecta Romana^ i. 169, and T, iii. 3.
14 The British School at Rome.
intact and in use, we see that while the most illustrious dead were buried
in ancient marble sarcophagi, often of an elaborately decorative character,
and, in one case, of Christian design, their tombs were concealed beneath
the pavement just as much as the bodies of less distinguished or wealthy
persons which were consigned to brick graves. - We must descend four or
five hundred years later — to the dawn in fact of the Renaissance — before
we find an appreciation of the decorative character of such objects. In
the thirteenth century the noble families of Rome still procured costly
ancient sarcophagi to form their tombs, but now they are above ground,
and exhibited so as to show their decorative features, forming part of an
architectural sepulchral monument which takes its place among the orna-
ments of the church.*
The subjects of the pictures fall into two classes, figures of saints, and
scenes illustrating a stor\\ Nothing could bring before us more clearly
the extent of the Greek religious influences in Rome at this time than the
spectacle of this array of Eastern saints, some of whom had preceded
though most accompanied the conquerors of the sixth century. Many of
them ha\*e made a permanent place for themselves in the Western
calendars, and others, though not so popular, are still common to the
Greek and Roman Churches.
But some who are prominent in S. Maria, were forgotten as time went
on, and their names no longer figurc among the saints of the modem
Roman Church. Abbat Cyrus in particular enjo\-ed a special popularity
in Byxantino Rome, and there were at one time five churches or chapels
under his ^xitr^^nage, though he has been almost completely foi^otten
sincv* the Middle Ages. It is significant that he appears no less than four
times in S» Maria, twice asswiatevi with his companion John. Among
those Grtx^k splints wv Kx^k alm*.>st in \-ain for anv who are distinctive of
the West, and even of Italv. There are indeevi a few local Roman saints,
and Augustii\e ap^xwrs as one of the Fathers, but practically there is only
oi\e in^jv^rtatu exccptivM\ tv^ the monotonous paxression of Elastem person-
ages. It is a significant one. Unh for the time and place — the canonized
lVj4^ Gr^^;\>ry the Ciawt ^ and Martin K are the most recent The
latter, the n\art> r vM' W^^tem orthvxioxy. had been dead barely half a
c\nUur\- when his in\age was ^\i:ntcv: on the w^all^^ Truly the Roman
Church of the eighth v\ tUur>\ K>r a!l the Byrantine atmosphere by which
S. Maria Antiqua. 15
it] was surrounded, was not ungrateful to the champions ot its inde-
pendence.
The manner in which the saints are represented is purely conventional.
They are classified according to their rank or calling, and then repre-
sented uniformly in the costume appropriate to the class — ecclesiastics in
their vestments, laymen in the official dress of the period. The only
method of distinction is by differences in physiognomy, and here
it is remarkable to notice how often the individual types agree with
the rules of the much later Byzantine Manual.^ Evidently those rules,
in this respect at least, were known in the eighth century. What
distinguishes broadly these representations of saints from those of
Western mediaeval art, is the absence of the general method of identifica-
tion in the latter, the emblem. In S. Maria Antiqua, Clement is almost
alone in appearing with an emblem, in his case the anchor.^ The important
class, in Byzantine hagiology, of medical saints is also represented
holding appropriate objects, but these are rather in the nature of indica-
tions of the profession to which the saints belong than personal emblems.^
In the same way the censer carried by St. Stephen (p. 79) merely suggests
one of the ritual duties of the deacon, and is therefore only official. For
the rest, the conventional costume, the traditional physiognomy, and the
name, suffice.
The scenes from the Old and New Testament History must have been
derived from a series of illustrations similar to those which appear in Greek
Bibles.* They do not, however, prpsent any very direct analogies with
these, though the designs show the same general character. The story of
SS. Quiricus and Julitta, elementary as is the execution, was probably in
the same way derived from an illustrated Greek manuscript. Here the
treatment of the scenes presents various points of contact with the pictures
in Byzantine Menologies (p. 54).
When we come to consider the artistic character of the paintings it
would be perhaps dangerous, in view of the relative unimportance of the
church, and also of the ruined condition of all save a few of them, to make
deductions of too sweeping or too dogmatic a character. But this mi^
* It is unfortunate that Miss Stokes, in her translation of Didron, omitted this part of the
Manual {Christian Iconography^ ii. 378).
* St. Peter appears regularly with the key at an even earlier period. The only representation
of him in S. Maria is too ruined to show whether he had it here.
' See pp. 78, 79, 98. * E.g. the well-known Greek Bibles in the Vatican Library (746, 747).
i6 The British School at Rome.
seems to be clear. While all the paintings, from the circumstances of both
time and place, must be described as Byzantine, some of them — ^notably
those of the Sanctuary and central part of the church (pp. 64, 85) — have
an unmistakable af{init>' yxith the Roman art of classical times, not only in
t^-pes and treatment, but also in method and tedmique. There is nothing
surprising or new in this, for B>*zantine art iK-as but the continuation of the
artistic traditions of the ancient world. The later pictures, consisting
mainly of the figures of saints, where the method of representation was
con\'ent]onal, belong to a different sphere ; and the character of these
figures ^^-ith their hard outlines, their stiff attitudes and fixed expression, ap-
proaches more nearly to what is generally understood by the Byzantine style.
WTiv should we look be\"ond Italv or Rome for the artists who executed
these paintings? S. Maria Antiqua, even after John VII. took it under his
patronage, lA'as ne\*er a churdi of sufficient importance to command the
sen-ices of the Greek artists of Constantinople. Moreover Rome, even at
this time, u-as too large a cit>% and the demand for decorative work, espe-
cially in the churches, too frequent for us to imagine that the artists had
alwa}*s to be brought in from outside, whene\^er such undertakings were in
progress. Some, no doubt, of the local Roman artists belonged to the
Greek colony, and their number may ha\ie been increased during the
Iconoclastic persecution in the East, which lasted through the middle of
the et:::hth centurw It mij^ht ex'en be suir^iested that in S. Maria we can
distinguish their work from that of aati\*e Roman painters by the Greek
inscriptions which accompany some of the pictures : though many of the
inhabitants of Rome at this perivvi must hax^e been bilingual. On the
other hand it is dilficu;t to believe that anv but Italian hands were con-
cemed with the paintin^^ in the chapel of SS. Ouiricus and Julitta. Our
cv^nclusion thon]^wiII be this : The art that we see in S. Maria Antiqua is
Bviantine, K^r that is the iirt of the a^-" ; but at the same time it is local
,\::d the \\\"rk of \x\\! artists, whether thev were nat:\^ Romans, or Greeks
whv> had ir.acie a new home in Konie ai^vi sucvreeded in becoming as good
Kv^mar.s as lohn VI L himself,
Ir. o!:c rcsixx: those pictures ha\^ a sixxiaI interest for English people.
Thev be'.or.;:: to, ar,v: arx^ i^rv'^haKx- tvr:cal o:\ an ai::e when England «*as in
',>rvVx^< of rxvei\ :: c a new evx !os:As::caI culture auvi c:sc:t»!:ne from Rome,
anvi when, therx^fv^rv. :hc rv^ition.s betvwx^n thc:n wxre peculiarly intimate.
Anv: further, if :r. :>..;: .^e Koine was v;o:n:n,atvxi bv the Bvxantine element.
S. Maria Antiqua. 17
we may remember that it was just this Byzantine element which took an
important part in the ecclesiastical settlement of England. Archbishop
Theodore was a representative of the Byzantine colony in Rome, and he and
others would naturally carry with them to England not only the learning
and ecclesiastical discipline, but also the ecclesiastical art with which they
were familiar. But we are fortunate in being able to point to a definite
instance of such an importation of Romano-Byzantine art into England
still nearer in date to the pictures of S. Maria Antiqua. When Benedict
Biscop returned from his fifth visit to Rome in 678, among other things
which he brought back for the benefit of his church at Wearmouth were
designs for pictures with which to decorate the walls. We are told that
figures of the Virgin and the Apostles occupied the vault (perhaps the
apse is meant), the Gospel history the northern wall, and the visions of
the Apocalypse the southern.^ Here we evidently have a church com-
pletely and consistently decorated with paintings after the Byzantine
fashion. Again, after another visit to Rome in 684, Benedict brought back
more pictorial designs, of which a series of the Life of Christ was destined
for Wearmouth, while at Jarrow the Old Testament types were placed
l?eneath the Gospel scenes which they illustrated ; Isaac carrying the wood
for the sacrifice below Christ carrying the cross, the Brazen Serpent in the
Wilderness below the Crucifixion.^ We cannot doubt that these scenes
also occurred in the series of Old Testament types in S. Maria Antiqua, the
fragments of which will be described in their proper place.^ And as we
look at the latter we may feel some confidence in thinking (and the same
thing is true, generally, of all the pictures in the church) that the subjects
reproduced on the walls of the church in the North of England were
derived from a similar, perhaps from an identical, series, and were closely
related to them in style and treatment.
On its abandonment in the ninth century, S. Maria Antiqua was so
completely stripped of its movable fittings that it has .little to tell us about
its ritual arrangements. So far as can be seen they must have followed
the regular pattern which is represented for us to-day in such churches as
S. Clemente and S. Maria in Cosmedin. Nor is there much that is new to
be learnt from the pictures about such matters. Perhaps the most curious
feature which appears is the use of votive candles (p. 51).
' Bede, Hist. Abb. 6, ed. Plummer (vol. v. of Works, ed. Migne, p. 718).
* Bede, I.e. 9 (p. 720). 3 pp^ 5^^ g^^ gg
C
The Bkitish School at Romk.
?, Maria Anthiu;
S. Maria Antiqua. 19
We have already alluded to the manner in which S. Maria Antiqua
•
reflects the political and social conditions of the time and place. Can we
similarly trace the effects of the great religious controversies of the age in
the pictures which adorn its walls ? Iconoclasm, indeed, must have left
things in Rome much as they were, and the paintings executed in S. Maria
in the middle of the eighth century are to be regarded as ordinary works
of continuation and restoration rather than as a protest against the
Iconoclastic Emperors. The theological struggle of the previous century,
on the other hand, has left a definite mark on the Church. As we shall
see, the triumph of Roman orthodoxy at the anti-Monothelete Lateran
Council of 649 was commemorated in the paintings of the Sanctuary
executed about that time ; and when the same part of the church was
decorated by John VII. on a more elaborate scale, but probably with the
same intention, Martin I., who had presided at the Council, and subse-
quently paid for his protest with his life, took his place in the monument
then erected to the orthodoxy and independence of the Roman Church.^
DESCRIPTION OF S. MARIA ANTIQUA.
I.— The Original Building.
As it is not our present object to discuss the origin and purpose of this
building, which was afterwards converted into a church, but only to describe
those features of it which are necessary for the understanding of the
subsequent arrangements, it will be sufficient here to state that it completes
the vast brick structure known as the Temple of Augustus, by filling up
the space between the back wall of the temple and the steep north-west
face of the Palatine hill. The various parts of the block condition one
another, and belong to a single plan ; and the date of its construction is
the reign of Hadrian.^
Passing the Temple of Castor on the right and the fountain of Juturna
on the left we reach the entrance of the newly discovered building. This
entrance, as will be understood from what has been said about the situation
' See pp. 62, 72.
* The unity of the plan and the conditions of the site are conveniently brought out in Figs. 47
and 48 (published of course before the recent excivations) of Lanciani's Kuins and Excavations^
pp. 121, 123.
C 2
20 The British School at Rome.
of the building, is in a wall which is an extension of the northern side of
the Temple of Augustus, though of much lower elevation. The whole
fa9ade in this direction was covered, in its lower portion at least, by a
porticus (A) ^ of brick piers, worked into engaged columns on their outer
face. Passing under this porticus we enter, through a wide opening, a
large hall (B), at the further end of which is a corresponding door. The
vaulted roof has entirely disappeared, and the only original feature which
has survived is the treatment of the *side-walls with large niches, alternately
rectangular and semicircular. Rectangular niches of similar size fill up
the spaces in the end-walls, on either side of the gfreat doors. After the
building had been converted into a church, passages were cift through the
walls below these, so that there were three doors at either end of the hall.
Proceeding through the central and original opening, at the further end
we reach what was evidently a peristyliuvi or cloistered court (C). The
open space in the centre is enclosed by a colonnade (D), originally covered
by a barrel vault (now restored), and supported at the angles on four sub-
stantial brick piers. At the two ends of the court these were united by
arches,* and at the sides by arcades, originally of brick piers, leaving
three openings on either side. At a later time, perhaps, wheh the building
was converted into a church, these piers were removed and replaced by
granite columns with marble Corinthian capitals, taken of course from
some older building.^ The bases of the brick piers have, however,
survived, and tell their own story. The farther end of the peristyle from
the entrance opens into three rooms, the largest of which, in the centre (E),
is of nearly the same width as the court, while those which flank it (F, G),
correspond to the breadth of the peristyle. These rooms are of great
height, barrel-vaulted, and lighted, in the case of the two outer ones, by
windows in the entrance wall, high above the level of the vaulting of the
peristyle. The}* communicated with one another by doors pierced in the
side walls. The great central room was, apparently, quite open in the
direction of the court, from which it was only separated by the peristyle.
The upper part of the opening, however, above the roof of the peristyle
* The loiters and numerals in brackets refer to the plan, p. iS.
* The further one has betrn restored.
* The arcade has l>cen restored, the arches l^ini; united to the capitals by means of the splayed
imjXKsl blvvks \pu'viut^ which came into use in Italv in the course of the fifth century (G. T.
I\i\\»irA, Cfi^ini dil\i At\hi:ci:ur.\ /.,'": \:nUy 24. The restoration is certain, as the spring of the
arch had surviveil on the anijle piers.
S. Maria Antiqua. 21
must have been closed by a sOreen of some kind, which served the purpose
of a window. The back wall of this chamber was excavated after the
building became a church so as to form an apse roughly corresponding
in height to the arch of the peristyle opposite to it. Previously a rect-
angular niche seems to have occupied the centre of the space.
The portico through which the building was entered, turns the left
comer of the facade, and is continued along that side which is nearest to
the Palatine in the form of a barrel- vaulted corridor (H). Three openings
were made into it in the Byzantine period by cutting through the wall
below the rectangular niches in the great vaulted hall. But where the
corridor reaches the peristyle, with which it communicates by a large and
original doorway placed in the north-east angle of the latter (J), it begins
to ascend by a regular incline (K), and returning upon itself when it had
reached a point corresponding to the end of the peristyle, continues to
ascend until it meets the long flight of stairs which unites the north-west
angle of the Palatine with the Forum.
The incline and the corridor have a flooring of opus spicatum in brick.
Considerable remains in the peristyle and court show that these were also
paved in the same way. The original decorations of the building, no
doubt in the form of marble incrustations, have entirely disappeared.^ As
we know that in cases where ancient buildings converted into churches
were decorated in this way, either simply, as in the Pantheon, or with
secular and even pagan subjects, as in the Templum Sacrae Urbis
(SS. Cosma e Damiano) and the Basilica Junii Bassi (S. Antonio Abbate),^
the original decorations were retained, we must assume that in the present
instance they were not removed to make way for the wall-paintings with
which the walls were covered, but had either perished previously, perhaps by
fire, or at least had fallen into a ruinous and fragmentary condition.
It is obvious that this building presents the essential features of the
plan of a Roman house. A vestibulum leads to an atrium^ on the
further side of which (as e,g. in the so-called house of Germanicus
on the Palatine) three rooms open — a tablinum in the middle, with
^ The fragments of a marble skirting in the sanctuary perhaps belonged to this original wall-
lining. I am informed by Mr. W. St. Clair Baddeley that ai the beginning of the excavation of
the church, in March, 1900, when the oliserver stood close under the barrel-vault of the sanctuary,
abundant traces of mosaic could be seen on the latter, though little except the bedding of the
tesserae remained. This, too, must have formed part of the pre-Christian decoration of the
building. •
' See, e.g.y Lanciani, Pa;^.iK and Christian Rome^ 28 ; Knins and Exari'at ions y 215.
22
The British School at Rome.
smaller chambers on either side. Fig. i, taken from a fragment of the
ancient marble plan of Rome, shows how common this arrangement
must have been. But it will be noticed that the plan of the building, with
which we are concerned, being on a much larger scale than that of an
ordinary house, suggests a public rather than a domestic purpose. There
are the elements of a house, but not the details. As in the Flavian Palace
on the Palatine there is a vestibule, with which we may compare the
so-called Throne Room, an atrium with a peristyle and a great room
beyond, and that is nearly all. The Flavian Palace was rightly described
as aedes publicae} for it was all staterooms. And taking into account its
plan and situation, the newly discovered building may have had something
of the same character.
'2 L
?S^
raimjn
A. B.
Fig. I.
A. Roman houses from the Capitoline Plan. (Jordan, Forma Urbis^ xxxiii. 173.)
B. S. Maria Antiqua. The Roman building.
As we have said before, it is not our object here to decide what was
the original purpose of this building. But one consideration may be
mentioned, for it is not without importance for the history of the church.
The determining feature appears to have been the incline which connects
it with the Palatine. The door (J) in the corner of the peristyle, from
which the ascent begins, suggests that the whole ser\'ed as a State entrance
to the Palatine, brought down to the level of the Forum. We are told
that Caligula made an approach to his Palace somewhere in the neighbour-
hood of the Temple of Castor ; - and though the building in its present form
* riinius, Panegyri.us^ 47.
' Suetonius, Cali^t^i^ 22 : partem: Pa'atii aJ Forum usjue /ronuKu'/, atifue aecU Castons e*^
PoUucis in vestibtihtm trartsn^urata^
S. Maria Antiqua. 23
cannot be his, it might well be a reconstruction by Hadrian of an arrange-
ment of such obvious convenience. Whoever may have been the origin-
ator of this extension of the Palace to the Forum, there was a time when
the site was laid out in a very different way. Below the floor of the
Hadrianic hall or vestibule there has come to light a large tank or piscina^
originally, and still in part, paved and lined with marble ; its sides treated
with a series of shallow recesses, alternately rectangular and curved. Set
at a very different angle from the later building, it was allowed to remain,
except where it interfered with the foundation walls of the latter. Its
length is determined by the remains of the flight of steps descending into
the water, which have been discovered between the wall and the first column
on the right of the peristyle, and exactly correspond to that which has
been preserved in the middle of the end near the entrance.^ The springs
for which this district is famous are sufficient to explain the origin of the
piscina^ but of its history we are ignorant. It appears to belong to the first
century of the Christian era.
Such being the building which was converted into a church at some
time, as we believe, after the middle of the sixth century, a casual observer
might fancy that it was far from being well adapted for such a purpose. If
the peristyle, as might have been expected, was to form the atrium of the
church, the limited space of the tablinum was all that remained available
for the church proper. Yet if we are to believe that the earliest Christian
places of worship in Rome were private houses, the same conditions must
have occurred in the ecclesia domestica of pre-Constantinian days. It might
even be suggested that the tradition or survival of such arrangements may
have made the conversion of the present edifice more natural than we
should otherwise have thought. But if we are correct in the date which we
have assigned to the foundation of the church, viz. the period of the
Byzantine occupation of Rome, a more important and more probable
consideration presents itself. Superficially, as we have said, we might
fancy the building ill adapted for conversion into a church. To the
Byzantines of that age the very contrary would appear the fact, for its
plan is precisely that of the type of Byzantine churches which are dominated
by the central principle (Fig. 2).^ There is a narthex, there is the central
* The original outline of the piscina is indicated on the plan by dotted lines.
' I have to thank Cav. G. T. Rivoira for permission to reproduce the plan of S. Sophia at
Salonica from his Origini della Architettura Lombarda^ Fig. 104, p. 70*
24 The British School at Rome.
space surrounded by an aisle, and beyond there is the Sanctuary flanked by
its prothesis and diaconicon. The central space, indeed, in a Byzantine
church would be covered by a dome, whereas here, apparently, it was open
to the sky. But if S. Maria was established by Byzantines or by those
who were subject to Byzantine influence, the ground plan of this Hadrianic
building must have appealed to them as peculiarly suitable for the
ecclesiastical arrangements to which they were accustomed ; and we may
well suppose that the coincidence had an important influence on the
foundation and site of the church.
However this may have been, the conversion took place in the following
manner. The tablinum, with the addition of an apse, apparently not
till the middle of the seventh century (cf. p. 67;, became the Sanctuar>',
Fu;. 2.— S. Soi'HiA, Salon icA.
and an enclosed choir, after the fashion of that which still exists at
S. Clemente, was constructed in the central space of the court, corre-
sponding to the width of the arches which united the angle piers of the
peristyle. There is nothing to show that this space was ever roofed over.
Its use as a choir and its painted decorations would seem to imply some
covering. On the other hand a roof would have deprived the rest of the
church of nearly all its light. The entrance hall was treated as the atrium
or narthex of the church, as is shown by the extensive burials which took
place within it.
In every part of the interior the wall surface, together with the piers and
columns of the peristyle, and the choir and other screens, was covered with
decorative painting. We will now proceed to give a description of these
S. Maria Antiqua. 25
remains and of such other objects as exist, starting with the church proper,
and turning to the left on entering from the atrium or vestibule.
II.— Description of the Church.
The outer wall of the peristyle on the left was covered with four tiers
of painting, distributed as follows. * At the bottom was a dado painted to
represent hangings. Above this was a row of full-length saints, facing the
spectator. The two upper tiers contained in oblong panels the Old Testa-
ment history beginning with the Creation.
The latter have only survived, in an intelligible form, on that part of
the side wall which is beyond the door (J) leading to the ascent to the
Palatine. At this point, on the first or upper row, the story has reached
the scene of the animals entering the Ark. The series must, therefore,
have begun immediately to the left of the main entrance, and even so
there is not room for more than eight scenes in which to represent the
history from the Creation to the construction of the Ark. As the frag-
ments of painting on the opposite side of the church belong, apparently,
to a New Testament series, we must suppose that the story on the upper
tier did not run continuously round the church, but when it had reached
the end of the left wall returned at once to the starting point on the
left of the main entrance.
The first trace of any scene that has survived on the upper tier is to be
found on the left wall beyond the side door (J). The upper and larger
part of the scenes on this tier has in every case disappeared, and with it the
explanatory inscriptions. What can be made out is as follows :
Of the first scene (i)^ only the lower right-hand corner is preserved
and shows a dead or sleeping figure. This scene was presumably the
eighth from the beginning, and corresponds to the fourth scene on the lower
tier (Joseph in the pit). It may be noted that the panels on the two tiers
exactly correspond. As the following scene shows the animals entering
the Ark, this was probably the murder of Abel.^
(2) From the left a lion (?) and a serpent approach the Ark, and the
hind quarters of a third animal are seen within the door. Three draped
figures approach it from the right.
* The numbers in brackets indicate the position of the pictures, &c. on the plan.
' This is the sequence, e,g, in the Byzantine Manual. Didron, ed. Stokes, ii. 268.
26 The British School at Rome.
(3) The Deluge. Conventional representation of the sea. The upper
part would have shown the Ark.
(4) Two draped figures facing towards the centre. Probably Noah*s
Sacrifice (Gen. viii. 20).
The plaster has entirely disappeared beyond this, but the series
stopped here, as is shown by the arrangement below (p. 37). Coming now
to the second tier, the faint traces of the scene to the left of the door (J)
show (5) on the left, a figure in a short tunic moying to the right.
In the middle a draped figure turned in same direction. Possibly the
Sacrifice of Isaac. Immediately to the right of the door the series
continues. Here for the first time we get the inscriptions, which are
painted in white letters across some vacant space of the background.
They give a short description of the scene beginning with ubiy perhaps
derived from the evOa or ivravOa with which the descriptions of the
miniatures in Greek Bibles (e,g,^ Vat. Gr. 746, 747) are introduced. The
names of the principal persons are also generally inscribed perpendicularly
beside them.^
(6) Very little remains. Jacob asleep on the ground. To the right
tACO^. Probably Jacob's dream at Bethel (Gen. xxviii. 1 1 sqq,).
(7) Left, Jacob, with his name inscribed beside him, apparently kneeling
before an angel who stretches out his right hand towards him. Right,
buildings, perhaps the gate of a city. Further to the left are remains of the
inscription, too fragmentary to be read with certainty. All that can be
seen now appears to be,
COB
AI\
MA GEL
BEN DI
T V R
Probably the scene represents Jacob demanding a blessing from the
angel with whom he had wrestled at Peniel (Gen. xxxii. 24 sqq,\ and the
description may be conjecturally restored : [Ubi Ia]cob [/uct]a/7i[r] [cu]m
a[n]£^e/[o] [ut] deTi[e]di[ca]tur}
* It may be mentioned here with regard to the inscriptions throughout the church, that frag-
mentary letters are generally printed as complete when there can be no question about their identity.
' This is the form of the description which accompanies the scene in the twelfth-century
mosaics of the Cappella Palatina at Palermo, though the representation is rather different. The same
scene at Monrcale has : /cwod luctavit cum angelo. Afii^eitts hen f dixit n ciicens^ etc.
S. Maria Antiqua. 27
(8) Only the right half of the scene is left. A draped figure, seated,
turned to the right, raises his right hand towards a youthful figure in a
short tunic coming from the right, also with his hand extended. The
persons, as the gestures show, are speaking to one another, and the scene
is, no doubt, Joseph telling his dreams to his father and brethren. The
latter were probably standing behind the seated figure of Jacob (Gen.
xxxvii. 10). The inscriptions have gone with the upper part of the picture.
(9) Joseph sold to the Midianites (Gen. xxxvii. 28). Left, six men
draw Joseph (lOSEPH to the left of his head) out of the mouth of a
circular well. In the upper right-hand corner a figure, standing beside a
loaded camel, extends his right hand towards the group, above which is
inscribed,
ubi ioseph ^ENVxNDATVS EST NEG\
in ^^//O-A FRATRIBVS SVISi
The last letter preserved on the first line appears to be the left stroke
of a V, and there is only room for one more. The word was probably
negus ^ i.e. negotiator ibus. The slight traces of the letter before O on the
second line suggest T. /;/ Egypto would be for in Egyptian, like /;/ carcere
in the next scene but one (11).
(10) Double panel, {a) Left. Joseph is sold to Potiphar. Left, a per-
sonage in Byzantine official costume, extends his right hand towards
Joseph (with name inscribed) who, also with raised right hand, is put for-
ward by a taller figure in a short tunic with his hand on Joseph's shoulder.
The inscription is gone.
{])) Right. Joseph tempted by Potiphar's wife. Left, Potiphar's wife
with her hand on Joseph's shoulder, who escapes from her towards the
right Behind them is a bed, and in the background a gabled house. The
beginning of the description is damaged, and the restoration is doubtful.
It appears to read,
///// r D lOSEPHCONCVPIBIT
E VM
i.e. perhaps, tibi uxor d{pmin)i Joseph concupivit eum,
(11) Joseph committed to prison. Left, Joseph (with name inscribed)
* The phraseology appears to be derived from the Vulgate. Gen. xxxvii. 27 : melius est ut
venundetur Ismaelitis. 28: et praeteretuttibus Madianitis nesotiatoribus. 36: Madianiiae vciuii-
derunt Joseph in Egypto,
28 The British School at Rome.
is led by a man who points with his left hand to the prison on the right.
At a window in its side two heads appear. Above, to the left, is written
VBI lOSEPH DVCITVR
I N CARCERE
(12) Pharaoh's feast (Gen. xl. 20-22). Left, on a square table, a circular
tray, in the middle of which is a large bowl with square platters (?) round
it. At the table three persons are seated. Behind the one on the extreme
left is inscribed perpendicularly on the frame of the panel, REX FAr^O.
The person to the right takes the cup from the chief butler who holds
a long-shaped bottle in his left hand. Behind the group is a gabled
building. To the right, the chief baker is represented hanging on a pole,
his hands tied behind his back. Above is inscribed
VBI R^BERS//SIT
INOFFICIO
V
There is no room for anything more at the end of the first or at the begin-
ning of the second line. The interpretation may be : ubi reversus it
(? iieruvt) in officio stio}
These scenes are in general too faint to allow of much discussion of
their artistic character, apart from the subjects. The latter were no doubt
ultimately derived from some MS. series of Biblical illustrations. So far
as it is possible to judge from their present condition, the comparatively
rude and simple character of the painting, the large round heads and short
bodies, not to speak of the characteristic Latin inscriptions, indicate the
work of a local artist. As we shall see later by comparison with dated
work in another part of the church, they are probably not earlier than the
middle of the eighth century. It may be added that while personages such
as Noah and the aged Jacob are fully draped in the classical style, the
youthful and inferior persons wear a short tunic and hose with a red stripe
down the front of each leg. The officials appear in the Byzantine official
costume of tunic and chlamys fastened on the right shoulder and adorned
in front with the square panel called the tablion?-
Immediately below the Biblical scenes, forming part of the same scheme
of decoration, and executed at the same time, is a series of full-length
^ Cf. Gen. xl. 13 : dabisqtie ei calicem iuxia officimn tttnm sicut ante facere consuevcras.
' Of this contemporary dress, regularly used here and in other monuments of the epoch, in
representations of official persons and lay saints, there are familiar examples in the well-krtown
S. Maria Antiqua. 29
figures of saints standing facing the spectator, in front of a high red dado
finished with a band of yellow. The background above this is dark blue,
with a broad band of red at the top. The names are inscribed beside the
figures perpendicularly in Greek, each preceded by O AflOC. The begin-
ning and end of each name is marked by a sign like a comma or the
spiritus leniSy which is sometimes of importance in determining the initial
letter of a fragmentary name.^ The saints are ranged on either side of a
seated Christ placed opposite to the space between the two columns of the
peristyle. The series was continued to the left of the side-door (J), and
probably also along the wall which divides the church from the vestibule.
Our description begins, as usual, from the left.
To the right of the side-door into the vestibule there were probably two
figures, but nothing is left except a portion of the frame or border which
enclosed the picture. To the left of the door (J) leading to the incline, the
first definite traces appear. A pair of saints occupied the space, but little
more than the nimbi round their heads can be seen. The first (13) was,,
apparently, a beardless figure. On either side of his head is inscribed
O AnOC I 'MaI/A'^. After the last letter, which appears to be a C, the
plaster has fallen away. Of the costume nothing has survived to give
a clue to the name. The letters which remain seem to agree best with that
of Mamas or Mammas, a martyr of Caesarea in Cappadocia under Aurelian,
who had a considerable notoriety in the West as well as in the East.^
Of the second figure the only remains are the nimbus with O Afto? to
the left.
To the right of the door (J) the first figure is (14) a beardless saint, in
Byzantine official costume (white tunic and chlamys with blue tablion)^
holding a small cross in the right liand and a crown in the left (/>. a
martyr). Of the name only the termination OC remains. There is not
mosaic of Justinian and his Court at S. Vitale, Ravenna. On this, and on ecclesiastical costume
generally, see Grisar, Analecta Romana^ i. 521 ; Wilpert, Gewaiidung der Christen ; and the con-
venient summary in Lowrie's Christian Art and Archaeology {\^\\ 383.
* The sign also precedes the names and descriptions in the Old Testament scenes above.
• Sept. 2nd in the Greek Calendar. Martyrohgium Romanum^ Aug. 17th. The Byzantine
Manual according to Didron (324) represents him as **jeune, imberbe." Ruinart {Acta
Sincera^ cd. Ratisbon, 1859, p. 306) gives the references to him by Basil and Gregory Nazianzen,
and an account of his cult in Gaul. One might have thought that a church dedicated to him was
indicated by the S. Mamiatus in the list of Roman churches given by Cencius Camerarius, as pub-
lished by Mabillon (cf. Armellini, Chiese, 43>, the form l)eing similar to that of Cosimatus from
Cosmos. But the only MS. of authority (Riccardi, 228) has Mannatus. P. Fabre in Melanges
d'Arch. et d 'Hist. 1887, 454 n ; cf. 434.
•
30 The British School at Rome.
room for more than three or four letters before it. We will postpone for
the moment the question of its possible restoration.
(15) A bishop, with short beard, holding a book with both hands. He
is vested in a dark blue chasuble, under which the dalmatic appears, and
the sacred pallium hangs round his shoulders. fPirOPIOC Presumably
St. Gregory the Great (590-604). He appears in both the Eastern and
Western Calendars (March I2th.).^
(16) A saint, with short beard, represented in precisely the same
manner as (14). The surviving letters of the name are *C6^"" which,
taken in connexion with the representation, may be restored with
certainty as C€PriOC. Sergius and Bacchus, martyrs of the Diocletian
persecution, commemorated on Oct. 7th in both the Eastern and
Western Calendars, had a decided popularity in Rome -from the Byzan-
tine period onwards, and three or four churches were dedicated in
their honour. As they never occur singly, we may feel some
confidence in restoring the fragmentary name of (14) as BAKXOC or
BAXOC, which fits the lacuna. Strzygowski has pointed out that their
distinctive badge is the metal ring worn round the neck.^ We may suppose
that this indicates the fact that they belonged to a corps of the Imperial
Guards, for in the Acts of their martyrdom Sergius is described as
prinnccriiis ct princcps scholac Gentilmmy and Bacchus as seaindicerius? A
closer examination of the remains of the painting before us shows that
Sergius certainly had the ring round his neck, for it appears clearly above
^ Hi> cull was in existence in the lime o{ Grcj^on- HI. ,731-741), whose brief regulating the
services in Si. Paul's without the Walls, mentions the .**/*:/-Aj **iissa ad s.'u. Cr^j^tfrtum ad iamias.
Cirisar, AtuiU\ta Rc*".at:a^ i. 169, T. iii. 3. It was recv^^r.isevi in England soon afterwards at the
Council ofClovesho (747). Haddan and Stubbs, Cchk.:'..\ c-.., iii. 36S.
• OniK: AiV*- A\*".', 124, Figs. 47, 48. The heads in ihe former are verj* close in style to the
splints in S. Maria Aniiijua, bui, as in the Byrantine M.inual iDivlrv^n, 322), Ix^lh are beardless- See
alsv> A'. :,:*v.V^-:.3, Ivii. yi^^co^ 1 50, anvi Dalton, Catc^c^.u c/ Ear.y Christian AfUijuitUs in the
J<r::is} .l/.»*oY»-; v»^X>0, No, 3t>S.
* A.:.: SS, iVl. vol. iii. S39. In the .\"\'/.'/j P:\:7:::^::i*': ,ed. Seeck, p. 31) we find sud
.:';>.'\v:'.v*;," :/'".' i.\':iis*ns ':,i^'s:n >'^,t\'r:i-:^ ,S'..i,\*.J C/i'/.'/ZZ/.w s/k/.tu*-: and iuttiorum. They
K'Ki'r.i^tVi to the >. \,.\:f J\i.\:.'in.:.' (Ammian. Marc. xiv. 7 . S:rr\-gowski, who repeats the incorrect
tv>rm K^rr.Vivr :or r«rTiV»*r, an eiror long ago jxnn I cvl ou: by the eviitor of the A if a SS.^ says
that the rtn^ i> the s-c^ *' ihres ade'i^en Ranch's" ,.'... 120'. IVj:. inasmuch as it is worn bv all the
C.'.arv'.>mcn in atteiuiance on the Ftv.'.vroi, a •. in the relief v^n the :\ise of the «.»l>elisk of Theodosius
at lVr.vta:\tir.op*.e \d\\i;inOv^urt, T. \. 7\ vvi his i.':j^:,s at Ma.trid iVenturi. SfK-nd de,7' Arte
/ .; ;.:v.:. i. Fij:- 4.^^^ •^"•v- -'^ the !n^^s.liv- v»t lustir.ian at Kaven:\i 'A>.im:cci, :v. T. 264. i. Hodgkin,
,'•,-: ^;.:*. ' •. iv. Fivr.;*.>*oit\-^ \ it ;n c'.eai th.vt :t is r.v^t a viistinotiv^t^. of the v»:rcer5but a badge of the corps ;
ana 1 wo;.;o. ^U4:5:Trst that ;t :> the \\i\uian :," ':.,s. a't;'.v:ir.g to the fact that, as the name shows
,^. v.';.*,.= /■:'-.>.:': , these v«v.au:> \Nv:\l\ oiici"'^'*^ •*' least, r.v^t Konur.s.
S. Maiua Antiqua. 31
the folds of the chlamys. In the case of Bacchus, where the painting is
fainter, it is less obvious, but still unmistakable.
This grouping of SS. Sergius and Bacchus on either side of Pope Gregory
must have had some meaning at the time when the painting was executi/d,
but the explanation is not obvious. The date of the introduction of the
cult of the saints at Rome is not known ; but, as we learn from Gregory
of Tours,' it was established in Gaul in the sixth centurj-, and,
possibly, Gregory the Great may have founded their first church in Rome.
The first Pope whose name appears in connexion with theirs is another
Gregory — the Third (731-741;. The Lider Pontificalis tells us that he
rebuilt on a larger scale their church near St. Peter's.- Can it be that this
is the Gregory represented in S. Maria Antiqua ? Like Martin I. and
Zacharias, he was no doubt regarded as a saint by the time when
these pictures were executed in the latter part of the eighth century.*
(J7) This figure is much damaged, but it is clear that he is an old man
with a short white beard and bare feet, wearing the classical costume of a
dark blue pallium over a long red tunic. The traces of the position of his
right hand seem to show that he was holding a book. Of the name only
the first letter is preserved, C ; it is followed by a mark which can hardly
be anything else but the transverse stroke on the apex of an A, which
appears in other cases. The next saint throws some light on the identity.
(iS) A figure much better preserved than the last, and apparently repre-
sented in precisely the same manner ; i.e. his feet are bare, he wears a dark
blue pallium over a red tunic, and he holds a jewelled book, The head
is that of an old man with a long white beard. The name is complete,
CV0VMIOC. The representation, which is the traditional one in Byzan-
tine art,* shows that this is the famous Palestinian A^bat (377-473},
described in the Greek Calendar as d Me7a? (Jan. 30th). As the personage
of (t7) is represented in the same manner, we must look for him in the
same class of monastic saints, and it now becomes clear that the name
is to be restored as CABBAC* Sabbas or Sabas (Dec. 5th in both
' Hill. Franc. Vii. 31. Gloria Marl. I. 96. = Lib. PaM. i. iflO.
* Commemorated on Nov, aSlh, only in ihe Calcnilat of iht City of Rome.
* Didrgn, 330, Wilh regaul to the iliess, s« p. %%. Though Ihe monastic saints in the
clevcDlb-cfntury mosaics of ttif Church of St. Luke of S litis ate repre'ienletl in regular monastic
twbils, it is la be noliccil thai, as here, their undct,^micnt is red (Sthultz and Bornsley,
Monasl€iy ef St. Luii, 51 sqq.)
* Cf. the representaiinn in the Church of St. Luke of Siiris, where they occur in the 5ame
group (Schuhi >nd Birnsley, 53). " St. Sahbas has a curiously trimn'.ed, short white beard, and
32 The British School at Rome.
Calendars) was a disciple of Euthymius, with whom he is thus naturally
associated, and moreover his name is connected with a famous Greek
monaster)' on the Aventine.^
(19) An ecclesiastic (short beard) vested in a yellow chasuble, and
holding a book. ABOVNAOC. This must be the presbyter Abundius, who
belongs to a group of martyrs of the Diocletian persecution, buried in the
cemetery of Theodora near Rignano, some fifteen miles from Rome. His
appearance here is curious, for there are no traces of his popularity at
Rome in this age, and the translation of the relics from their original resting
place was not earlier than the eleventh century. The * Acts ' of the
martVTdom are however older.-
(20) An ecclesiastic (short beard) in a red chasuble, holding a book.
B A AevTINOC. The well-known presb>'ter of the Roman Church (Feb. 14th).
His popularity in this age dates from the restoration of the Basilica on the
Via Flaminia by Pope Theodore (642-649).'
(21) A bishop (beardless) in classical costume, with bare feet, and the
ecclesiastical pallium round his shoulders. He holds a small cross in his
right hand, and a book in his left. AACfayAPOC (the last two letters
inscribed horizontally\ The bishop of Rome of the beginning of the second
centur>\ His place here is no doubt due to the celebrit>'' of the tomb of the
martvr .Alexander on the Via Nomentana, with whom he had been confused
at least as earlv as the sixth centurw*
{22\ A bishop (short beard' in a yellow chasuble with the pallium,
holdini: a book. A€CO. St. Leo the Great (April nth in the Roman
Calendar ; Feb. iSth in the Greek\
23 A bishop (short beard in a red chasuble, with the pallium. The
fingers of the right hand, in the Greek attitude of blessing, touch the book
which he holds in his left. C€AB€CTPICC. St. Silvester (314-335)^
i^a: of t u>vn.ius is ven long.** Bu: i: should not have Inrtn stated that the crosses which they
hoKi irvlicuU" tha: :hey >*ere n^artyrs.
^ Tr.c rt^^rr.: excavation > i:; S- SaSa have ni.ide i: clear that the church was lieing decorated
u: the >a:r.e tinx ar.vi ix-rha:^ by the >ame hands a> this j.xin ofS. Maria Antiaua.
- H.> -^ar-ie ^as vnly ir^strtev: in the Konun and other MartyroU^es tSept. l6th) in the mx-
icenth v-c:::.:r\. T'x- . r-^iiral cyitArh is nov% in the l-iteran Museum \C.l.L, xi. 4076K Cf. I)e
K.vvv: in :<:t::. A' :. C:--. iSS;. lu -;/- The rrlx*^ *ere reviiscv^vered in SS. Cosma and
l>a:u:ano in 15S.: a:. " i;i\cn t > th.- Church of the C.esu Tancir >:i. r.-.v-« .Vx^v.v/y, 2S6\ where ihcy
» He «> rtvt,^:uv: :- cna-Ix tl^c >a-- van-vr nc';: h:*;: t*^e ^.^reeV f^rm of benediction) m
Ihv Vc: • cv: -K:-: II. •:•'. Vi: -• I: :a:> ,.- A:,vi-:. :.. :n .
S. Maria Antiqua. 33:
(24) A bishop in classical costume, with the ecclesiastical pallium. Short
beard and bare feet. In his right hand is a small anchor, and a book iii*
his left. KAeiMENTIOC. St. Clement of Rome.
(25) Christ seated on a throne, robed in purple. His right hand
blessing in the Greek manner. The left holds a book. Cruciform-
nimbus.
The Saints who follow are all bishops wearing, with one exception, the
chasuble and pallium, and holding books with both hands. The names are
practically intact.
(26) icoANNIC XPICOCTOW. Short beard. Blue chasuble.
(27) 7PirOPIOC. Long beard. Yellow chasuble. Probably St.
Gregory Nazianzen (6 SeoXoyo^)}
(28) BACIAIOC. Long beard. Blue chasuble.
(29) n€TPOC aX€ZANAPINOC (the last word inscribed horizontally
in two lines). Short beard. Red chasuble.
(30) KVPIAAOC. Long beard. Yellow chasuble. St. Cyril of Alex-
andria.*
(31) 6n€l(|)ANIOC (the last three letters horizontally). He has a long
beard and bare feet, and is represented in classical costume (white), with
the addition of the ecclesiastical pallium. He holds a small cross in his
right hand. His costume, in which he is alone in this part of the series, is
explained by the fact that, until he became bishop of Salamis in 367, he
had led the monastic life, and always maintained his monastic connexions.
He is therefore represented in the same garb as, ^.^., Euthymius (18).
(32) a^ANACIOC. Long beard. Yellow chasuble.
(33) NIKOAAOC. Short beard. Red chasuble. St. Nicolas of
Myra.
(34) 6PACMOC. Short beard. Blue chasuble. This must be the
Campanian bishop martyred in the Diocletian persecution (June 2nd in
the Roman Calendar). He no doubt owes his position here to the fact
that his name was associated with an important Greek monastery on the
Caelian, refounded by Pope Adeodatus in the seventh century.'
^ He is associated with SS. John Chrysostom and Basil in, ^.^., the Greek Psalter in the British
Museum (Add. 19352, f. 35 b). Cf. Nilles, KaUndarium Manuale^ 87. In the Church of St.
Luke of Stiris it is Gregory h eavfMTovpyhs who appears in this company {/.c. 59).
' Cf. Schuhz and Barnsley, Motiastery of St. Lukey PI. 51.
' Lib, Pont, i. 346. Armellini, Chicse^ 122. Gregorovius, Rome^ ^c. bk. iii. ch. vi. (English,
translation, ii. 163).
I)
34 TiiK British School at Rome.
We thus get the following series, starting from the Christ in the
centre :
Left,
Right
Clement-
John Chrysostom.
Silvester.
Gregory Nazianzen.
Leo.
Basil.
Alexander.
Peter of Alexandria
Valentine.
Cyril of Alexandria,
Abundius.
Epiphanius.
Euthymius.
Athanasius.*
Sabbas.
Nicolas.
Sergius.
Erasmus.
Gregory (? the Great).
Bacchus.
Mamas.
With regard to the principles on which these lists are arranged, it is
clear that the saints on the right represent, generally, the Eastern Church,
and that those on the left belong to the Church and City of Rome. The
choice of. the first eight names on the right, as the principal champions of
the orthodox faith, is natural and intelligible.^ Erasmus appears to be an
exception; for he has no Eastern connexions. On the other hand, as we
have |X)inted out, his name was well known in Rome at this period.
On the left, saints connected with the city of Rome predominate.
The first eight are apparently arranged in the order of ecclesiastical
dignity. First come four of the best-known Popes, then two presbyters,
then two representatives of the Eastern monasticism which, in this age,
had found a new home in the city of Rome.
Pictures of the eighth century are so rare that it is not unimportant to
^ note precisely the manner in which these Saints are represented, the more
so because the same rules are applied in ever)' part of the church.- Follow-
ing the example of Apostolic personages, Clement and Alexander as
ecclesiastics of the pre-Constantinian age appear in the garb with which
we are familiar fnMn the Catacomb-paintings and the mosaics, viz. the
classical costume of the pallium over a lon^:: tunic reaching to the feet,
generally white with two red <tripc> down the front. Their feet are bare.
S. Maria Antiqua. 3
Valentine and Abundius, however, though they belong to the same epoch,
are not represented in this manner. Round the neck bishops also wear
the ecclesiastical ornament known as the pallium, ix, the white band
marked with crosses, one end of which hangs over the breast. All the
ecclesiastics, of whatever period, hold a book (the Gospels) in the left hand,
but in his right Clement holds a small anchor in front of him.
Ecclesiastics of the fourth century and onwards appear in the ordinary
vestments ; chasuble, dalmatic, tunic or alb, and the pallium forT)ishops.
In most cases the wide sleeve of the white dalmatic can be seen hanging down
from the right hand as low as the knees and bordered with two bands of red,
and within it the sleeve of the tunic or alb, fitting close to the wrist. In the
other cases there is only the tunic with a border at the wrist, and as usual
there are two red stripes down its front. There are sometimes differences
in the pallium worn by the Eastern and Western bishops. With the
latter it lies round the shoulders with one end hanging down over the
middle of the chest, and this is also the case with the last four bishops
on the right. The crosses are of the shape ■™|^ With the first five
Greeks it is wound round the neck, the end falling in front over the
left shoulder. The crosses on this side are alternately of the forms
and
^
The monastic saints (Euthymius, Sabbas, and Epiphanius), though
they belong to the fourth century, are represented in the classical or early
Christian costume of pallium and tunic. Perhaps it was chosen in order to
indicate that as monks they are sacred persons but not ecclesiastics.^ In
the case of Epiphanius, the addition of the ecclesiastical pallium is enough
to suggest that he afterwards became a bishop.
The lay saints appear in the Byzantine official costume, to which we
have already referred ; viz., the chlamys, fastened on the right shoulder so
as to leave the arm free, and marked in front with the square panel of
darker material known as the tablion. This is worn over a long-sleeved
* Cf. Grisar, AnaUcta Romana^ i. 526, who says that the costume is used regularly ** per
onorare quei santi che non erano da rappreseniarsi colle vesti liturgiche o altrimenti proprie." It
might also be suggested that, as the pallium was the garb of philosophers, it had a special
appropriateness for ascetics.
D 2
36 The British School at Rome.
tunic reaching below the knees. These saints hold a small cross in the-
right hand and the crown, the emblem of martyrdom, in the left The-
former is of the shape T and held in front of the chest. It does not
seem to have any j reference to martyrdom, but appears very
commonly in Byzan- X tine representations of saints of all kinds (as-
herc also with Alexander and Epiphanius). But it is most frequent with
lay saints, because their hands are not occupied, like those of ecclesiastics,
with books or with the gesture of benediction.
The saints are so much better preserved than the scenes above them that
It is possible to say a few words about their artistic character. Though
bi>th, as being on the same plane of the plaster, and forming parts of one
scheme of decoration, were presumably executed at the same time, they
jl^N-c the impression that they are not by the same hands. The Greek
inscriptions attached to the saints, perhaps support this conclusion. In any
case the \\x>rk is that of a not \-er>' high class of church decorators. The
single figures with their rigid and con\^ntional attitudes do not present
much sci^jK for frceiiom of drawing, but the outlines are coarse and
elementary. Relief is produced by shading with hatched lines. The
(iiccs, with their h\rgc and staring e^-es, have a melancholy expression.
The dadv> below the figures is covered with a representation of hangings.
As this vxvurs in sc\\t%i1 jxirts of the church (though perhaps not always of
the s;\n\o dato^* one vicscriptiv^n may suffice for alL The drapery is white
w ith a \\\ir>o iwl an^i \vUow ^wttcni. the folds being marked by thick black
luK^v It is hut\ii Ai^ainst a backgrouiKl which now appears black, but was
^u^ \Kn\ht \M t^in;UIy Kuo.
lnun<\liAtc!\' IvUnx tlu^ fi^^itrc of Christ a small square pedestal of
Imu K AUvl tilox has Iwn Innct Aj;Air*st th:s viraperx* at a later date. It was
aiv>ut Sxcmx hi^hv Aiui |^^v;<vt^^i AK>ut 65cn\. fnMn the \i-alL In the upper
j\Mt ^>^ A >\;vuMv vAxitv v"'"v:xv\\kV *:xi ^vXm. h:gh\ lined \inth white
i\>ArKo At the t\\.^ A^\l s;nV>^ a^\: v^CTvk' Ant^ue at the bottom, and open
^;> h\v\t h IN >n5n\;nV,va tV vV^ttvA* s;:iNiXxt of an altar with a receptacle
Wkm\^ K\^\ v,\^^ th.N ;\%;t vN?^ tV c>,;:rv"h x^-e rr.ust nodce the remains of
^^^\ut^^^^ v.\ t>s^ K\iVvV x\t tV Aw ^V V>Ao,WtO' the ir^dine- On the left
wnSV t^x^v "iV V V ^c- v^ *>^^" *^ *V s^xv^AtvY ^x\ The\- ha\-e lars^e
wOx^w oVu\Jm V,V xV t.A' \v^ 'x^ ^^ sSvM\-- by the xx^r. c^ mantle o\-er the
hx\%x\ Ai^x tV Ns.\^^^ >^ :S^ xWs xxA^ .^^.^SJLS\ the Virgin. She stands
S. Maria Antiqua. 37
tinder the central opening of a structure of masonry like a triumphal arch.
On the right a column with its capital can be seen, dividing the central from
the side arch. Immediately above the right of the capital a small bust in a
medallion is painted in red.^ The full-length figure below this has disap-
peared, except the nimbus round the head, the bottom of the long tunic, and
the sandalled feet. Nothing definite can be made out of the figure on the
other side. If the central figure was the Virgin, the attendants were
probably two Archangels.
The subject on the right (36), though reduced to little more than outlines,
is clearer and more interesting. It is the " Descent into Hell."^ On the
right we see the figure of Christ, fully draped and with the cruciform nimbus,
moving quickly towards the left. With the right hand he grasps the hand of
a beardless figure in white drapery below him on the left, rising oiit of a tomb-
like structure. Behind this figure appear the head and hand of another.
In the left hand Christ holds a roll. His right foot rests on the head
of a figure half-seated, half-crouching on the ground with the right
leg bent under it, supporting with one hand the cover or door of the
tomb. In this figure we may recognise the personification of Hades which
appears in other representations of the scene. The discussion of the
importance of this picture in the development of the subject is reserved for
the Appendix.
At the point where the series of Saints and the Old Testament scenes
above them come to an end, opposite to the beginning of the corner pier
of the peristyle, the aisle was crossed by a low screen with an opening in
the middle, through which there was an ascent of two steps. Above, at
the level of the top of the row of saints, some kind of beam ran across,
as may be seen by the corresponding holes in the main wall and in the
pier of the peristyle. The painted frame of the picture was arranged so
as not to interfere with this. The beam may have been either of wood or
marble, and supported by two short columns resting on the screen.^
Between the screen and a small door through which a staircase descends
from the first landing of the incline, the wall was again covered with
paintings. Unfortunately very little of this has survived. At the top the
' It recalls the figures of the sun and moon which sometimes appear in representations of the
Crucifixion. E.g. Garrucci, vi. T. 459, 2, 3.
• Sec the sketch, Fig. 9, p. 116.
' The appearance must have been like that of the screens in the Church of St. Luke of Stiris
<Schalu and Barnsley, PL 22, &c.).
38 Tr(E BkiTisii School at Romk.
plaster has completely disappeared, exposing th? brickwork. Correspond-
ing in height to the row of saints in the outer part of the aisle there wcro-
two tiers of scenes, painted in a peculiar and individual style with very
small figures. In the upper tier all that can be seen is, in the left corner, the
upper part of a male figure, nude, save for a garment coming over the
left shoulder, and wearing what appears to be a turreted crown.' He
holds some larjre yellow object in his left hand. In the right comer is a
fragment of drapery belonging to a figure, and under it appears the
border which framed the scenes with a fragment of description painted
on it ,.ICAI. . . The fragment below shows that the inscription was
in Greek. On the lower tier, in the left comer, are two male beardless
figures, nude save for loin-cloths, standing side by side, apparently
in water (37). Their right hands are held flat on the chest. It
is possible that the>' belong to a series of the Forty Martyrs, a
subject which we shall find represented in another part of the church
(p. Ill), Below them on the painted border are the first words of the
description, TH"PA4>HTHCelK0N0C;A;TtJJ^BPtJJ the beginning
of which is obvious: rj ypa^rj t^? elKovot. The small figures are painted
in a bold and sketchy style. The outlines are hard and angular and the
features produced by single strokes of the brush. The forms are modelled
in colour, with the lights put in in white. Below is a dado of drapery with
bold pattern of red on a white ground, equally characteristic. It is clear
that there was an earlier painting on this wall, but only the broad red
enclosing border, can be seen in places where the upper surface has come
away.
We now pass through the door at the end of the aisle into the chapel*
(F) to the left of the Sanctuary, containing perhaps the most interesting
remains in the building.- The fact that the barrel-vault has remained intact,
and that the chapel is enclosed on all sides, has preserved some of Ac paint-
ings in a far better condition than in any other part of the church. Tl
earth in which they \vere buried has acted as an excellent preservative, am
except where the plaster has fallen, thcj' .re as fresh as when ihey left
artist's hands. Moreover, from thfe inacri] ons and the historical personaj
> This has a certain resemblance 10 the penooilii iui1« iif rlccru uith bums on ihett head*.
the Greek Psalter of the British Museum (Add. 19^31. '.57 b, laitt).
* Thu dwirs which connect the chapel with the ai',. and the sanctiuri' were parlly bulll upi
as to reduce their siie after the building liecame a chiin '
spunding chapel (G).
act,
int- ^^
M
S. Maria Antiqua.
39
represented, we are able to date them within a few years. They thus provide
a valuable example of Roman pictorial art in the middle of the eighth
century. The subjects show that the chapel was specially connected with
SS. Quiricus and Julitta, a mother and her son who suffered martyijdom
at Tarsus during the Diocletian Persecution.
The chapel was divided into two nearly equal parts by a low screen
of marble slabs, with an opening in the middle, and a step up into the
inner portion. Above the screen, as shown by the holes in the walls, and
the arrangement of the painted frames of the pictures, a beam ran across
just as in the aisle outside the chapel. In describing the pictures, which it
may be noticed do not extend above a convenient level for the eye, the
lofty walls above this beiYig left blank, it will be best to begin with the
r~j
■a
m
Fig. 3. — Plan and Skction of Base ok Altar in the CUwki. ok
SS. QriRlCI-S AM) JlTLITTA. •
end, or south-east wall, behind the altar. The remains of the marble base
of the latter still exist in situ, almost square, and standing away from the
wall. As will be seen from the accompanying rough sketch (Fig. 3), the
sides were formed by slabs of marble which fitted into groo\'es in the base.
In the middle of the latter is an oblong cavity for relics, the edge being
rebated *to receive the lid. At the back of\ the altar there was an
opening. The arrangement is almost exactly the same as that of the
sixth-century altars in the crypts of the SS. Apostoli and of SS.
Cosma e Damiano.^ '
In the middle of the wall, fairly high up, is a square niche, part of the
* (jarrucci, vi. T. 423, 9 — 11 ; Grisar, Anal. A'ont.^ i. 620 s^(/. Cf. also the altar • of
Euphcisins .It Parcnzo (Garruarr, \i. T. 408, 9; Rivoira, Onipnty Fij;. 144). .
The British School at Rome,
ancient construction of the building. The back wall of this is painted wil
a Crucifixion (3S), peculiarly well presented owing to the protection it
received from the recess in which it is placed.
On a yellow cross, fixed by three pegs in a small red mound, the fi]
of Christ is extended. The head, which is surrounded by a cruciform
nimbus, is slightly inclined to the left, and the eyes are open. He wears
a long sleeveless garment, which is blue with two yellow stripes down the
front The feet are nailed separately, and high up above the instep,
the cross has a top limb it is concealed by the yellow tabula ansata imi
<liately above Christ's head. On it is inscribed
+ IC O NAZU)PAIOC
O BACIAeVC TlUN I
OYAAIWN-
To the left stands Mary, completely enveloped in a dark blue garment,
bordered and fringed with white. She is in the act of raising her covered
hands to her face on which an expression of acute grief is depicted. Her
head is surrounded by a nimbus, and beside her is inscribed perpendicularly,
SCA MARIA. Bet\veen her and the cross Longinus ts represented on a
much smaller scale, piercing the side of Christ with a spear. He is a
bearded figure wearing a short green tunic with a stripe of gold embroidery
^own the front and also at the wrists, and blue hose. His sword hangs at
his IcO side by a strap passing over the right shoulder. Beside him is his
name, l.ONGINL'S. On the right of the cross stands John (nimbed), in the
Apostolic garb of a yellow pallium over a long white tunic with two red
stri|>es down the front His right hand is in the attitude of blessing, />., the
first two fingers arc extended while the others are held by the thumb.
In his IcA hand is a jewelled book. Beside him is inscribed perpendicularly
SCS lOANMS EVGAGELIST.\. The figure seems to have been taki
from some scries of Apostles or Evangelists, for the attitude is convi
tional and has no relation to the scene of the Crucifixion, as is always
ca-w in later mediaeval art If the scries was a Greek one, the transliti
tion from EMrycXiAT^ might help to explain thcmis-spdiingof the
IVtwecn John and the cross, and corresponding in sixe to Longinus, is
M>ldier mi&ing the sponge on a reed. He weaxs a sbon red tunic and hi
boots comii^ up his bare legs. Beside Wm «t^Tls ih* biuret of vfi
The b»ckgrouii<! of the picture '« » dar"
!
S. Maria Antiqua. 41
on the left and the moon on the right. Below, on either side of the cross,
are two mountains, the left red, the right green. The edge of the foreground
is marked by what may be intended for tufts of grass, or possibly for cracks
in the soil. The roof of the niche has a coarse red pattern, and on the
sides are roughly drawn palm trees with clusters of dates.-
The picture of the Crucifixion adds one more to a series of Roman
representations of the scene, which are almost precisely similar in treatment,
and which must go back to some common original. They date from the
seventh to the ninth century, and, while they sometimes agree even in
minor details, the chief peculiarities which they all possess are the follow-
ing.^ The Christ is robed in a long sleeveless garment, and the feet arc
nailed apart Mary is raising her covered hands to her face, and John is
represented conventionally with one hand in the attitude of benediction^
and the other holding a book. In all but one, Longinus and the soldier
with the sponge also appear. The oldest (though the date is not absolutely
certain) is the painting in the Catacomb of St. Valentine, probably belong-
ing to the time of Pope Theodore (642-649).^ In this the two soldiers do
not appear. The next formed part of John VI I.'s (705-707) mosaic decora-
tions in his chapel of the Virgin at St. Peter's. So far as can be judged
from the draivings made before its destruction in the seventeenth century,^
it was exactly like the picture in S. Maria Antiqua, which may well have
been copied from it. Among the paintings of the ninth century in the
oratory under the Church of SS. Giovanni e Paolo is another example,
which even in minor details agrees with the picture in S. Maria. Longinus
has the sword hanging at his side, the pail of vinegar stands by the soldier
u-ith the sponge, and the ground shows the same rude representations of
vegetation. On the other hand, St. Mary Magdalene appears behind the
Virgin supporting her.*
Below the niche, the whole breadth of the wall behind the altar is
' Some of the features appear in the more elaborate representation of the Rabulas Codex (sixth
century) Garrucci, iii. T. 139.
* Marucchi, Cimitero e Basilica di S. Valentino^ 49 sqt/. The discovery of the picture in S.
Maria Antiqua has confirmed the truth of the old copies of the Catacoml> painting (Bosio, Jioma
^tUrraneay 579, and Ciacconio's copyist, Cod, Vat, 5409) against the objections raised by Wilpert
{Die Kaiakombtn-gemaUe uftd ihre alttn Copieiiy 40).
* Garrucci, iv. T. 279. i, 280. 8. Part of the figure of the Virgin raising her covered hands
to her fiice may still be seen in the Crypt of St. Peter's.
* P. Germano, La Casa Celimontana dei SS. Martiri Giovanni e Paolo^ 426, Fig. 74. The
original has now practically disappeared. An ivory of about the same date in the Liverpool
Museum (Mayer Collection) shows John in the same conventional manner with a book, though the
42 The British School at Rome.
painted with a row of full-length figures ; the Virgin and Child enthroned
in the centre, flanked by the patrons of the Roman Church, the patrons
of the chapel, the Pope of the day, and the donor (39). Behind them
is a dado alternately red and green. The upper part of the central
group has been ruined by the fall of the plaster, and the surface below
the figures has also disappeared ; otherwise they are generally in a
good state of preservation. Beginning from the centre, the Virgin, seated
on a characteristic Byzantine throne with a large cushion, is draped in
purple robes ornamented with jewels. Her right hand was apparently
raised. With her left she holds the Child seated on her lap. He is
clothed in yellow, and grasps a roll with both hands. To the left is St.
Paul in white pallium and tunic, with sandalled feet. On the end of the
j:)allium which hangs down is the mark |. Beside him can be read
+ PA//LVS. St. Peter, on the right, is represented in the same manner,
but on his pallium is the mark H- Beside him js /E/RVS. To the left
of Paul is Julitta, completely enveloped in a dark yellow garment coming
over her head where it just shows a kind of turban underneath. She-
holds a small cross before her with the right hand, and with the covered
left a jewelled crown. Her name is complete: SCA IVLITA. She has
of course the circular nimbus. Beyond her the last figure on the left is
Pope Zacharias (741-752). He is vested in a dark yellow chasuble, over
which is the ecclesiastical pallium, white with red crosses. He supports a
jewelled book in his hands covered with the chasuble. The head, with
its black hair and short beard, is sufficiently individual to suggest
portraiture. Behind it is the square nimbus. The name is inscribed
-fZACCH ARIAS | PAPA (in two columns). Sanctissivius, which no
doubt preceded the name, has disappeared. On the right of St. Peter
stands Ouiricus, represented with the stature of a boy. He is dressed like
the Apostles, and his hands are raised and extended with the palms out-
wards in the ritual attitude of pra)er. He stands on a small platform like
the footstool of the throne. His head is encircled by a nimbus, and over
him is inscribed (perpendicularl}', as usual) .srS + CVIRICVS. Beyond
him, to the right, and turning towards the centre of the picture, is an
ecclesiastic vested in a chestnut-coloured chasuble covering his hands,
Christ is <»f ;i ditTcrcnt type (( larrucci, vi. T. 459. 3. Wcstwocul. //V//V> /rvrit-s af S. Kensington^
|>. 105). Cf. .'il>»> ( "lori, 'I'lus. \'i'(. Dipt. iii. T. xxxii. John not infrcqucnlly retains the book in
niedi.'.exal repre>enta:i>'ns, ev^n after llie rij^ht hand •ha> assunieci a ditiereiU atlitiule.
S. Maria Antiqua. 4j.
which support, as if presenting it to the Virgin, the model of a church. It
is a small building with a semicircular red-tiled roof, a door with a window
above it in the facade, and another door in the right side. As these
features correspond more or less with the existing chapel, though it is
not a detached building, we may suppose that the model was intended to
represent it. The features of the donor have entirely vanished, but on
either side of the square nimbus behind his head is inscribed :
+ /HEODOyS • PRIMO • DEFENSORVM
ETD/\f/ENSATORE
GENETR/VIS • SEN
SCE • DI
PERQVE
BIRGO- MARIA -QVI ! APPEltATvR
ANTIQA o. ' j
Between the initial cross and the beginning of the name the surface is
destroyed, but the space shows that a word, perhaps a title (corresponding
to sanctissivms in the case of the Pope) has disappeared. It is not easy
to suggest a restoration. A donor of this age, in a votive inscription in
the first person, generally speaks of himself as indignns or iufelix} but the
case is different when, as here, the inscription is not a dedication but an
identification or description. Perhaps some such word as devotus ox
devotissiinus (contracted to DEV) occupied the space. Priino, as the line
above it shows, is for priinicerio, though in the * Book of the Popes ' the
earliest mention of the office describes its holder as defensontin primus?
Primicerio illustrates the use of the ablative for the nominative, as in
dispensatore ; the origin of the Italian form.
Theodotus is known to us from two other sources. In the church of
S. Angelo in Pescheria there still exists the inscription which records his
rebuilding of the structure, and also gives the list of relics which then
belonged to it. At this t,ime — the date may be either 755 or 770 : in any
case later than the inscription in S. Maria Antiqua — he describes himself as
holim dux nunc primicerius sca{ucta)e sed{is) Apostolicae et pater {li)uius
hen{erabilis) diac{pniae)!^ Further, in the Liber Pontificalis we are
' E.j^. the deed of gift in S. Clemente begins : infciix ego Gregorius primus presbyter^ &c.
Grisar, Anal. Rom. \. 123, 172, T. vi. i.
' Lib. Pont. i. under Constaniine (708-715). For the office cf. Duchesne, Premiers Temps
de r£tat Pontifieaiy 46 : * personnes chargees des rapports avec les tribunaux, et notamment dc
Tcx^cution des sentences ecclesiastiques. C'est un sen'ice d'avouerie et de police.*
' Grisar, Analecta Romatia^ i. 174, T. iii. 5. Duchesne, Lib. Pont. \. 514, n. 2.
The JJritish School at Rome.
told that the future Pope Hadrian I. (772-795) on the death of his
father had been brought up a proprio thio Tluodoto dudum consult et
dnce postmodum fero primiario sanctae nostrae ecclesiae} Theodotus,
then, was originally a military official who, probably in middle
life, adopted the ecclesiastical career and reached one of the big]
positions in the Roman Church. But his connexion with S. Mi
Antiqua was due to the fact that he wa.s also the dispensator or adminii
trator of one of the official charitable institutions known as diaconiae which
had its seat in the church. In this respect he may be compared with the
d/spetisaior o{ another dt'aco/tra, S. Mari.i in Cosmed in, who. perhaps some
fifty years later, in a deed of gift to the church describes himself as
inmeritus dux?
The reason for the interest taken by Theodotus in the saints to whom
the chapel is dedicated, is not obvious. Quiricus and JuUtta belong
originally to Asia Minor, Tarsus being the scene of their martyrdom ; and
they were well known in the East, where they still retain their place in the
Calendar on July 15th. In Italy, Ravenna possessed some of their relics,^^
and at the end of the fifth century their names, at least, appear to havftj
been known in Rome, for their apocryphal ' .Acts' are among those con-
demned by the Roman Council of the year 495.* But we have no reason
to think that they were ever popular in Rome, and the only dedication to
them in the city belongs to a much later period.^ On the other hai
their cult seems to have been [xiculiarly frequent in Gaul. Their relii
were said to have been brought to Auxerre at the end of the fourth
century, and dedications of churches to them are numerous." In thi:
conne.\ion we cannot forget that, in the time of Zacharias, the relations
between Rome and the Prankish kings were becoming intimate. Itisonlj
' Lib. PaiU. i. 486. 7»w, t.t. Stlsi, ' tio,' ' iincle.'
' Thr inscripliun (slill in ihe purlieu) is aililrtsseil M the Virpn (1, 5) : ege kamiiUmni 11
tuns [E]u!taliivs iumtriliu dux qiiim liti iburviri et kuk scat tiiAt diaiieHlat) diiftHsalMvm 1^
Cicscimbcoi. Isteni, dt S. Maria in Cetmediu, 6a. Mni, Strifi. Vti. -AW. CM. 1
Duchesne, Lib. Pom. i. 510, 0. 9a
» Wrffl5-.y.June, vol. iiLajfinS. (Jlf>v8imiB«Ii««,foiinitedin438). Theyai
n tlie Western Calenilus on June i6ih ; Atartjrntagiiim Hierpiiymiamim, Sit.
* Mansi, Ceniilia. viiL IS*. Mignc, FUr. Lot. lii. I64- J»ff*, AVftrfa, li. 693 (Add«BJi|j
defends ihemitheniidly of (he t1r<TMUifGdMli»,balcf. i}niU, Anakfta KtmaHa, i
" SS. yuirico c GiuliHa Whm.l ihe Poruiu «f AognsHis- The fonnitati'm "f lh« dnwdl
h older, but the present tledicsiion (irV ■mwara in the luellUi ccntuiY.
I
I-
n
IJ3.
• jttta SS., Jon
1-..I. iii. »i. f
S. Maria Antiqua. 45.
with his successor that we find the Pope actually making a journey to-
France, but his predecessor had appealed for help to Charles Martel, and
Zacharias himself had given his sanction to the accession of Pippin. It is-
remarkable that the name of Quiricus appears on one of Pippin's coins.^
But who can say whether this temporary popularity of the saint originated
in Rome or in Gaul, and which of the two learnt it from the other ? All
that we know is that communications between Rome and Gaul must have^
been frequent at the time, and therefore it is not impossible that the dedi-
cation of the chapel in S. Maria Antiqua may be, in some way or other,
due to contemporary conditions. It is a curious coincidence, though
perhaps nothing more, that the name-saint of Theodotus, also a martyr of
the Diocletian persecution, is connected with another Julitta. He appears
thus in the Roman Martyrology on May i8th. Ancyrae in Galatia S.
Tluodoti tnartyris et sanctarum Theatsae eiiis amitae^ Alexandrae, Claudiae^
Fainae^ EuphrasiaCy Matronae et Itilittae virginum. The virgins were
martyred by being drowned in the lake, and Theodotus recovered the
bodies and buried them. If we wanted to launch out into conjectures, we
might suggest that Theodotus, the dispensator of S. Maria Antiqua, being
first through his name connected with this group of saints, and later
coming to know (whether from an Eastern or Western source) of the more
famous Julitta of Tarsus (and her son Quiricus), may have confused the
two ; the difficulty of the difference in condition being perhaps concealed
by the fact that the list of the virgin martyrs of Ancyra (see above) ended
with Matrona et lulitta} Such cases of a name being mistaken for a
description are, of course, not uncommon. However, any such explanation
is perhaps unnecessary : it certainly cannot be proved.
We may now proceed to the story of Quiricus and Julitta as repre-
sented on the side-walls of the chapel (40). The series begins on the left
wall at the end nearest to the door. The scenes here are a good deal
damaged.
(i) On the left, the governor (in Byzantine official costume) is seated in
front of a structure like the apse of a basilica. An attendant stands on
either side of him. In the middle of the picture appears Julitta extending
^ M. Prou, Monnaies Carolingiennes^ p. 130, No. 927 : on reverse 5a Cirici. On the other
hand, the rediscovery of the relics at Auxerre, the translation of part of them to Nevers, and the
dedication of the Cathedral there to * St. Cyr,' only took place at the end of the eighth century.
Petits Bollandistesy vii. 74.
• The same order is given in the Acta Sincera^ c. xix. (Ruinart, 380).
46 The British School at Rome.
her hand towards the governor, />. addressing him. Behind her orl the
extreme right is a soldier. They are standing in front of a wall, above
which there are traces of a nimbed figure in yellow, apparently the same
personage who is represented below. Behind this figure to the right is a red
castellated building. There can be no doubt that this scene, following the
* Acts,' ^ represents^ Julitta, who had escaped from Iconium to Tarsus,
arrested and brought before the praeses Alexander. The figure oh the
wall is perhaps intended to represent the fugitive outside the city. To the
right of the governor's throne are the traces of the description (five lines),
too fragmentary for connected restoration. It can be seen that it began
with —
ub\ SCA inlitia
-and that it ended with some such phrase as
ducitur ad preSlDeM
Possibly the word FVGIENS occurred in the middle, but the traces are
very uncertain.
(ii) To the left is a gateway towards which Quiricus (-f SCS
CVIRICVS^ over his head) is being led by a man in a short tunic. On the
right a soldier with a lance holds him by the left arm. Behind him is a house.
This is the next episode in the Acts. Quiricus, on the arrest of his
mother, had been concealed in a house outside the city ; but at the request
of Julitta he was fetched in order to give his testimony before the praeses.
With this agrees the description which seems to read :
udi ses CVIRICVS A MILIT/BVj DVCIVR
A word is inscribed perpendicularly in the gateway, perhaps the name of
the city — Tarsus according to the Acts. The first letter which has
survived is possibly an A. The second has disappeared. The last three
are SI A. The name may have been given as Tarsia.
(iii) Almost entirely destroyed. The beginning of the description can
be read + VBI SCS CVIRICVSC/7 &c. The last letter is uncertain but
is probably C. The next episode in the Acts is the examination of Quiricus,
and his confession of faith. The inscription may have run : [/fii ses.
Cuirieus Christiajium se eonfitetur.
(iv) The flagellation of Quiricus, the next episode in the Acts (§ 4),
^ The story, as is explained below, generally foll<n\s ihe later 'Acta' given, jn Acta SS. Jure
i6ih (vol. iii. 28). The edition of Antwerp, 1643, ^:c , is always cited.
S. Maria Antkjua. 47
to
Tunc iraUiS Praescs iussit contristari piiennn et catomis caedi. On the left
the governor, seated on his throne, stretches out his right hand with the
first and second fingers extended and the third and fourth held down by
the thumb, the regular gesture accompanying any solemn utterance, which
still survives in the episcopal act of benediction.^ On the right a man
(beardless) in a short tunic holds Quiricus (name as usual), naked and face
downwards, under his right arm. Another man on the left is flogging him
with a small single-thonged whip. The executioner is represented with a
long moustache and shaven chin. Above is the description,
+VBISCS CVIRICVSCATOM^LEBA-FS EsT^
The punishment of * catomulevatio ' occurs in several accounts of
martyrdoms of children, and has been explained by Du Cange and the
editors of the Acta^ but we have never before had a representation of the
process. It was clearly the same as the old-fashioned operation known as
' horsing.' Catomo or catonm {i.e. kut &fiov ' down from the shoulder ')
levari or suspendi is the regular expression in the * Acta,' and seems to be
equivalent to in hinneros tolli ; but the phrase had come to mean a school-
boy flogging generally ; and in this case Quiricus, being only a triennis
pner^ is secured in a more convenient fashion.^
(v) Fairly well preserved. On the left, in front of a house, the governor
wearing a chlamys (vith tablion and a yellow disc or segmentiim on the arm
of his tunic, is seated with an attendant behind nim. Beside him is
inscribed (in two columns) PRESES ALEXANDRVS. In the centre a
man in tunic and chlamys (without the tablion) shows Quiricus to him.
Quiricus extends his right hand with the gesture described above (iv).
Behind him is Julitta. Both have their names inscribed as before. Above
is the description :
-h VBI • SCS • CVIRICVS • LINGVA • ISCISSA • LOQVIT | AT
PRESIDEMc^
* Apuleiiis, Met. ii. 21 : porrigit dexteraniy ct aa instar oratortim conformat artkiilum ;
duolmsqtu injimis conclusis digitisy ceicros cmitms porrigit. Cf. Grisar, Analecta Romanay\, (>^0\
Lowrie, Christian Art and Arch. ^ 260.
' The older verb catomidio (with the same meaning ; see Rich, Diet. Ant. s.v. ) which appears
in Petronius, 132, and Spartianus, Vita Hadrianiy 18. 9, seems to have dropj^ out of use. Du Cange,
Gloss. S.V. and the Bollandist editor in Acta SS. June, vol. ii. 1023 (SS. Vitus and Modestus), give
examples of the later phrase. In such passages as that quoted above from the Acts of Quiricus (cf.
Acts of Vitus and Modestus, June, vol. iii. 1022, § 4) where catomo ox catomis caedi '\s used, the original
meaning seems to have been forgotten, and catomus — * the rod.'
4^ The British School at Rome.
This episode occurs in the Acts, but at a much later point (§ i6).
Itnpiissimus autetn Praeses non est compunctus ex omnibus his^ sed repletus
diabolo vocavit medicuvi, dicens, Incidite puero lingtiam : non enim ferre
possum incantationes et magicas artes eius. Cumque et hoc factum essety
divina virtutc cepit loqui sanctus puer dixitque ad Praesidem : Aestimasti
mi/ii verba posse auferri cum lingua^ sed ego accept a Deo spiritum organic
quern nee tu nee pater tuus diabolus extinguere potestis^ ut insultem mcdiciosat
iufidelitati tuae^ quia te extollis contra Deum,
(vi) Damaged. On the left the governor was seated giv^ing orders,^
but only the footstool of the throne can be seen. Above appears
the tiled roof of a house. On the right is a building with tiled roof,
representing the prison. At a window in its side the saints (with their
n»imes beside them) appear with hands raised in the attitude of prayer.
Below, they were represented up to their middles in a caldron, with
hands raised as above, but x'ery little of this is left. Flames can be
seen underneath. To the right Julitta*s name is inscribed perpen-^
dicularly. In the •Acta* this episode follows the cutting out of the
ttM^guc» as here (§§ 17-^. Pnuses dixit, Affcrte cacabum, et mittite in eo
piiYm^ iYnun, stupp^wi, et adAibete ignem. (Julitta hesitates, but is restored
to faith by her son s praj-er.) .... Ha^c dicens beata lulitta ingressa
sf\^»:U in %\u\}!'um cum^/io benei/ivit Deum, et non est contristata ab igne neque
,*?Av\*, Sjfutus ttutem iyn\^s ombat cum /twrimis, &c. The imprisonment
is mci\tiiM\i.xi as car I \*^ as § c\ We may therefore restore the fragmentary
\loscnplivM\ thus ^of the next scenc^ :
tk}: .x,S CVIRICVS M. VMMATRE 'su^tm in i-aav^um missi sunt.
Wo nvn\ turii tv^ the rii^ht waU of the chapel where the series is con-
linucvl a: the onvl nearest the a!:ar.
vvir This scene is smaller than the others as then? w^as a recess in the
\\a*t v?'^''^-^r^'^ *^ ^*^'^*^'"^^"^ be'ow it. I: wi!! be nc^ticed that the painted
hair.x* N^f the :u"\: i^icturx^ is aV^ arrani:evi :c^ f.t thrss. The Saints (nude,
xvw"^ ?Vr \^i:vv\^:hs^ are cxtcr.vuv. or. a 'ar^ r^at receptacle which tTi*o men
\n vho-^t t;r':x^ a;v r'aciri:: ::^ \x\s:: or, by trx^jms of a projecting handle at
Osthv^ V ^^* i>o VvAv Vi:T\^;:rv: o: :ho -cvr^r is n^i. i>?rtvipfc> to represent fire.
I > tho ; x\ x^ \ *: >a n: oov.x r a> ix^ars the S^vi, ur Jn a red, slee\*ed gar-
ino^:^ ^tvv:^'^ \; .,: :v.v : ;;'^: hAr.\ *r.cr. \^ h \rh r*\^ rcvveed. bie^sinsr the
.«^»>*\ .^ »» ^ »■.. >-s,k« 'k, .«« "v _ * ^ ^ » »•• - ..X • ^v • •«»r» x ,;■'■» ^ ^.•■^ "^s^w^ o nor**' c
S. Maria Antiqua. 4(>
+VBISCSCVIRICVS:CVMVIATRE SVAM| IN SARTAGINE •
MISSI SVNT-
There is nothing in the Acts exactly corresponding to the torture of
the frying pan {sartago). Perhaps it is another version of what is narrated
in § 12. lussit post haec Praeses afferri tectum aereuin et imponi sanctum
puerutn supra euvi. This, is the more probable as we shall see that the
next words of the Acts illustrate the next scene in the chapel.
(viii) This is a rather long panel, and it contains two subjects. On the
left Quiricus is standing between two men, one of whom (right) holds a
large nail on the top of his head with one hand while he hammers it in
with the other. Blood is spurting out from the saint's head. The execu-
tioner with the hammer has a moustache like the one in (iv). Above is
an angel flying downwards with outstretched hand from which come rays
of light. Beside him is inscribed ANGELyS. The description reads :
+VBI-SCS-CVIRICVS ACVTTBV I CONFICFSETC^
Acutibu{s) {acutis would be the regular form) occurs as a synonym
for clavis in the Acts of Martyrs (see Du Cange). After the inscription
was painted an unsuccessful attempt was apparently made to convert
the final T into an S for est. The subject is explained by the pas-
sage in the Acts which immediately follows the words quoted in (vii) :
clavosque acutos infigi capiti eius^ dicens ad eum^ Si /tabes Veum certum,
liberet te nunc de manibus meis : et statim angelus Domini de caelo veniens
extraxit clavos qui fuerant infixi.
The final episode of the martyrdom is represented in the other part of
the picture. On the right, the Governor on his throne is giving orders,
/>. his right hand is stretched out with the " benediction '* gesture. He is
attended by two soldiers with conical helmets. Above him is inscribed
PRESIDE. To the left, a man in a yellow tunic and white chlamys, which
is flying away with the violent action, is swinging Quiricus by one leg.
Above is part of the description which may be completed conjecturally,
+ VBI SCS • CVIRICVS • IN terrain illisus est.
In the later Acts, with which, as we have seen, most of the scenes
correspond, Quiricus and his mother are finally beheaded (§ 22). In the
older and simpler version of the Acts (see below) we read that the Gover-
nor, exasperated by the child's refusal to yield to his blandishments, pede
E
50 The British School at Rome.
arreptum e sublimi solio puerum terrae allidit} This seems to be the
origin of the representation before us.
The story of Quiricus and Julitta has reached us in two forms : (i) The
oldest is the letter of Theodore, bishop of Iconium, belonging to the age
of Justinian.^ The author states that it was intended to supersede the
fabulous narratives of the martyrdom which, as we know from the decree
of Gelasius (p. 44), were current at the end of the fifth century. The story
in this form has been reduced to a comparatively small number of episodes.
In particular, Julitta is arrested with Quiricus in her arms, and his death
takes place at an early stage of the proceedings, (ii) The more elaborate
story printed in the Acta Sanctorum dates, apparently, in its present form
from the twelfth century.^ Most of the scenes in the chapel can be traced
in it ; but the paintings, or their originals, are evidently derived from a
version in which the episodes were neither so multiplied as in the * Acts,'
nor given in quite the same order.
It may be convenient to give a table showing the correspondence
between the scenes and the Acts : —
S. Maria Antdqua
Scene
(0 =
fii) ■ =
(iii) =
(iv) =
(V) =
(vi) =
(vii) =
(viii) a =
b = c. iii
The series comes to an end just where the screen crossed the chapel.
In the space between this and the small door leading to the sanctuary
there are the remains of a large painting which, apparently, represented the
Virgin and Child surrounded by donors (41). The upper part, with the
heads of the principal figures, has gone. The Virgin was arrayed
in a blue dress, and there is a footstool under her feet. Her left hand
^ Ruinart, Acta Sincera^ p. 504, c. iii.
^ Ruinart, Acta Siticera^ p. 502. Acta SS. June, vol. iii. 23.
' ActaSS. Tune, vol. iii, 18.
Acta Sincera
Acta SS.
Ruinart,
503
June, vol. iiu
• •
C. 11
§1
2
? 2, 3.
4
16
? 12
12
S. Maria Antiqua. • 51
touches the feet of the infant Christ Everything above this has perished.
To the left stands a personage in a yellow chasuble, holding in either
hand a votive candle of a form which we shall see more clearly in a later
picture (p. 52). Between him and the Virgin is a beardless male figure, in
a dark red tunic and hose, of the proportions of a child. He is facing the
spectator, but his hands are extended sideways towards the centre of the
picture. Behind his head is a square blue nimbus. To the right of the
Virgin, the figure corresponding to the personage in the chasuble on the
other side, is much damaged. It probably represented a female, for it wears
a red garment coming down to the feet, with two large circles on the
lower part, and another ornament between them. Corresponding to the
small male figure on the other side is a lady of similar proportions. She
wears over a yellow dress a sort of shawl, white and fringed. From the
Fig. 4.— Sketch showing Position of Hands with Flower.
point where it is fastened in front, a long chain hangs down ending in a
pendant Her earrings are large hoops with depending ornaments, and she
also wears a necklace. The upper part of the head is gone. Behind it
is a square blue nimbus. She stands facing the spectator, her feet not
resting on the ground. Her left hand is raised with the palm outwards
and its thumb touching the little finger of the right hand, between the
thumb and first finger of which she holds a red flower (Fig. 4). So much
of the background as appears is green.
In the absence of any inscription, the most obvious supposition is that
the picture represents Theodotus, not, as on the wall behind the altar, in
his official, but in his private capacity, making, together with the members
of his family, an offering to the Virgin, the patroness of the Church. The
E 2
52 . The British School at Rome,
other personages might then be his wife and children. It is possible that
the small figures may represent adults, but the probabilities are the other
way. The dress, in particular, of the male figure (the simple tunic) suggests
a boy.
The picture contains several interesting details. In the first place, we
see that the square nimbus is not confined to persons of a sacred or official
character, for here we find it with the two small figures who, even if they
are not children, appear to be of secondary importance. The motive of a
flower held in the hand is not common in late-Roman and Byzantine art.
The nearest analogy to our picture is the representation of Serena, the wife
of Stilicho, on an ivory diptych at Monza.^ She is standing with her right
hand raised to the level of her shoulder, and holding between the thumb
and first finger a flower, which also seems to be intended for a rose. It
has been suggested that, as her left hand holds a mappa or handkerchief
like the consuls in other diptychs, the flower may be some indication of
authority or dignity.^ The Virgin is not unfrequently represented in this
epoch holding a handkerchief^we shall come presently to an instance in
this church (p. 67), and in the same way she also occasionally holds a
flower.'* If this is not a sign of dignity or a mere ornament, it might be
explained as an emblem of herself* And so the lady in S. Maria Antiqua
may be holding a rose as a sign of devotion to her patroness, the Virgin.
Lastly, we come to the paintings on either side of the door by which
we entered the chapel from the aisle.
To the left is another votive picture (42). In the left corner, probably
the same personage whom we have seen before, vested in a yellow chasuble
and holding a lighted candle shaped like an ordinary wine bottle^ in each
^ Gori, Thesaurus Veterum Diptychorutii^ ii. T. vii. Labarte, Histoirc cks Arts ludustrith au
Moyeu A;^i\ i. T. i., «S:c. \'ciUuri, Sloria dlC Arte Italiana, i. Fig. 332.
^ C. Jullian in Mclaugts if Arch, d iVHist.^ 1882, 28. The same idea had suggested itself to
(iori {of*, cit. 241), who thought that tlie Clolden Rose, given by the Pope to indi\iduals as a mark of
honour, may have had its origin in lliis connexion. We should hardly Ix* justified in sup|V)sing
that the lady in S. Maria Antiqua had lx.'en a recipient of the Golden Rose, which does not ai)|xar
l)eforethe eleventh or twelfth century (Cartari, La Kosa cCOro Pontificia^ Rome, 168 1, p. 7 siji/.).
^ On the Anglo-Saxon ivory of the Adoration of the Magi in the South Kensington Museum
(i42-'66), the \'irgin holds a flower between the thund) and second finger of her right hand. In the
lienediclional of Kthelwold at Chatsworth, the \'irgin, in the scene of the Nativity, holds a golden
lily in her left hand (Waagen, Treasures of Art in Gt. Britain^ iii. 362).
* Based on Canticles ^ ii. i : * I am the rose of Sharon, and the lily of the valleys.'
^ <^>y. in order that it may stand ujiright of itself. In the next Roman representatit)n of votive
ta]icrs that I can recall — the eleventh-century pictures in the lower church of S. Clementc — they have
the form <»f c«)ils of wax, no doubt for the same reasoi^
S. Maria Antiqua. 53
hand, is kneeling before Quiricus and Julitta, who stand facing the spectator.
Their heads have disappeared, but they are represented as on the wall
behind the altar, only that Quiricus holds a cross and crown, and Julitta
has her right hand raised. Behind the figures is a red dado with yellow
border. Above this the background is blue. If the kneeling figure is
Theodotus, we at last get a portrait of him, for the face, bearded and of
mature age, is well preserved. Behind it is the blue square nimbus. The
picture, then, signifies his special devotion to the patrons of the chapel.
The jambs of the do6r are decorated with rudely painted palm trees, like
those of the niche above the altar.
To the right of the door the space is occupied by four saints (43). They
are nimbed, and hold crosses and crowns. Three are women ; the first
completely enveloped in a dark red garment, while the others wear a yellow
palla over white dresses edged with red. The last but one is a man (short-
bearded), in Byzantine official costume (white tunic and chlamys with red
tablion). Beside him is inscribed perpendicularly +SCS ARMENTISE.
The name is complete and the letters certain. The other figures do not
appear ever to have had names. The background is similar to that on the
left of the door. Above the picture are the concluding words of an in-
scription,
///RISQORUM NOML\ADSSCET-^
the well-known formula for describing anonymous saints or martyrs.*
Perhaps it was intended to commemorate the converts made by Quiricus
during his prolonged martyrdom.^ According to the Acts which we •
have so often quoted, more than a thousand such persons suffered with
him (§ 23). If this be so, some Acta must have been used which gave
details not in our version, such as the name Armentise. There appears to
be no trace of such a saint in any of the Martyrologies.
It only remains to be added, that below the paintings all round the
chapel (so far as the surface is preserved) there was a representation of
yellow drapery with coarse black shading lines, just like that under the
row of saints in the left aisle. They are so much alike in design and
execution that it is difficult to believe they were not carried out by the same
hands (not necessarily those of the painters of the pictures). We may
* E.g. in the inscription of Paschal I, of the year 817, in S. Prassede (1. 18) : (k s{an)([t)orum
^tingentorum quorum nomiita sett oni{tii)p{oUn)s (Grisar, Anai. Rom. i. 183).
* So Marucchi in N, Bull. Arch, Chr. vi. (1900) 308.
54 The British School at Rome.
therefore infer that the paintings in the aisle were executed about the same
time as those in the chapel, i,e, in the middle of the eighth century, or perhaps
a little later.
They were not however by the same hand. The pictures in the chapel
have a character of their own, though as works of art they may be described
as elementary. The drawing and action of the figures in the martyrdom
scenes is often better than the painting, which is coarse and rude. The
two small angels (in monochrome) on either side of the head of Christ in
scene (vii) are, relatively, quite excellent ; but they are an exception. There
is ver>'' little ability to represent anything lik^ a pictorial background. The
isolated figures of saints and contemporary personages, especially those of
the wall behind the altar, are more successful, as the larger scale gave some
opportunity for breadth of treatment In them we may notice that the
flesh is painted in white and pink on a ground of green, after the manner
familiar from the pictures of the earliest Italian Renaissance. The
Crucifixion in its expression, relief, and vivid colouring, is far the most
favourable specimen of this local Roman art of the eighth century. For
local it must surely be. The elementary character of the work, and the
characteristic Latin descriptions, alike testify that we are dealing with
products of the local conditions of Rome in that age. On the other hand,
the designs ma>- well go back to some Byzantine series of illustrations of
the life of the saints. The scenes are quite in the character of those in the
Greek Menologies. To take only one detail, the small figures of Christ and
angels, such as we have noticed in (vii) and (viii), occur regularly in the
well-known Menologium of Basil II. in the Vatican.^
The only parallel at Rome for a series of pictures illustrating the
" Acts " of one or more saints which has come down to us from Byzantine
times is (or rather was) to be found at S. Prassede where, till within the last
few years, were to be seen fragments of the stories of the martyrs whose
bodies Paschal I (817-824) transferred to the church. There can be little
doubt that the pictures were executed at the same time. Each of them
was accompanied by a description in the same form as at S. Maria
Antiqua."
W'c now pass through the side-door into the Sanctuar>' (E). We are
* So UH» the iwelfih century MS. of Symeon Mclapbrasles in the Briti>h Museum (Add. 1 1870)
Cv»niains many .TnaU>gic>.
• ^ ,. VBI SCS I\ LIANVS KVSTIIUS CEDITVR. Armcllini, Chifse, 242. There is
noihini^ lo l>e scon of the pirture> now.
S. Maria Antiqua. 55
at once struck by the fact that its walls have been decorated more than
once, for where the plaster has fallen another painted surface (in some
cases more than one) is revealed. Still, the principal features which meet
the eye belong to one time and one decorative scheme, and it will be most
convenient to make this the basis of our description.
The three walls of the Sanctuary exhibit a single design. The main
subject is the Gospel History, depicted in two rows of scenes on the side-
walls, and reaching its climax in the Crucifixion portrayed on the wall above
the apse, but as a symbolic and theological rather than as an historical
fact. On the side-walls, below the Gospel scenes, appear the Apostles ;
and on the spaces flanking the apse the four Fathers, The design was
completed by the usual dado of drapery, into which however in this case
figures are introduced. We cannot be sure what was represented in the
apse, for the work of a later age conceals this part of the scheme. But
there can be little doubt that it was either a * Majesty,' i.e, Christ enthroned
(as in the later work which we have before us), or else the patroness of the
church, Mary with her Son, surrounded by saints or angels.
We will begin with the side-walls. On the left only the last scene of
either row has survived in the right corner. The upper one is the Adora-
tion of the Magi (43). On the left the three Magi (with ;;/AGI inscribed
above) in conventional Oriental costume with Phrygian caps advance
towards the Virgin and Child seated on the right. The Child has a cruci-
form nimbus, and extends its right hand. Behind stands Joseph with the
name lOSEF beside him. The foremost of the Magi is kneeling as he
presents a casket with his covered hands. The second and third are also
carrying offerings, and apparently are speaking to one another. Between
the Virgin and the Magi an angel (half-length) with wings extended and
holding a staff, turns towards the Magi and points to the Child. All the
figures except the Magi are nimbed.
The story was continued on the opposite wall in the left corner. Of
the upper row of scenes very little is left. The first was no doubt the
Presentation in The Temple (44). On the left the nimbi round the heads
of three figures can be seen. Over the first is inscribed ANNA and to the
right of the second -hIOSEF(the last three letters perpendicularly). To
the right are remains of draped figures.
The following scene was in the country, for the ground is covered with
tufts of flowers in a style which recalls some Byzantine miniatures. All
The British School at Rome.
the figures have disappeared. The subject may have been the Flight into
Egypt
Beyond this the upper row of scenes has entirely vanished on this
wall. Returning to the left wall, below the Adoration of the Magi the
Procession to Calvary (45) is fairly well preserved. In the centre, Christ
with the cruciform nimbus, robed in dark red, and with the right hand
extended, is advancing in the midst of a crowd of figures. He is preceded
by Simon the Cyrenian (in short tunic) carrying the cross on his shoulder.
Above the latter is inscribed (in three lines)
SIMON I CYRENEISIS^.
The Crucifixion itself is represented on the wall above the apse. We
pass this by for the moment, and continue the story on the second row of
licenes on the right wall. Remains of five can be made out. They must
illustrate the story between the Crucifixion and the Ascension. The first
scene in the left-hand corner has gone. It must have represented the
Resurrection. The next (46) shows Christ in the centre. The right arm
is raised and bare, but the figure is draped. The palm of the hand is
simply open. On either side of him is a group of Apostles over each of
which was inscribed +APOSTOLI. Behind the group on the right is a
house. The composition at once recalls the scene of the * Incredulity of
Thomas' as it appears in Byzantine MSS. and mosaics, though of a later
<latc than this painting.^ The next scene is very fragmentary, but there
can be .seen on the left a group of Apostles (4- AP^STO// above) in a boat
with oars on the sea (blue with red fish swimming in it). On the right is
the lower part of the figure of Christ standing on the shore. It is obviously
the scene of the Appearance on the Lake of Tiberias which follows the
Incredulity of Thomas in the Byzantine Manual.'- Only the lower half of
the two last scenes remains. In the first of these there was a figure
standing in the centre. To the left another, bending forwards, apparently
with out-stretched hands. Perhaps the subject was the Charge to Peter.
In the last panel a draped figure is moving towards the right. Back-
* The .subject is (lescrilx-'d in the Byz.intine Manual (Didron, ed. Sti/kes, ii. 320). The
miniature in the twelflh-cenlury (j<)S])els in the Hritish Museum (Harl. 1810, f. 261 b.)is typical.
The subject appears with the same main outlines in tlie church of S. Luke of Stiris (Schuliz and
l^arnsley, 49, I'l. 38) on which see Diehl in Mi'Ianj^^s for 1889, p. 41, who says that he knows of no
earlier example.
■-' Didron, ed. Stoke^, ii. 321.
S. Maria Antiqua. 57
ground of hills. In the right corner is a group of buildings, above which
can be read ciWiTas, but the name itself is gone. The subject was,
perhaps, the Appearance upon the Mount of Galilee, the Ascension being
reserved for some more prominent position.^
Below the historical scenes on the side-walls was a series of busts of
the Apostles in circular medallions with yellow backgrounds which give the
effect of a nimbus. The medallions are represented as attached to a sub-
stantial rope of oak leaves (black and white with a red background)
stretched along the wall. On the left wall four heads are tolerably preserved.
Beginning from the left the first fragment is inscribed (on the background,
in two columns) +BArTHohOmejis. Of the next medallion nothing is
left. The three which follow are fairly intact. They are inscribed
respectively: +IOHANNES, +ANDREAS, +PAVLVS. Theheads,of
classical type, recall those of the Apostles in various Roman mosaics, and
have nothing in common with the Byzantine representations.- On the
right wall the first two heads from the left (one of which must have been
St. Peter) have disappeared. Part of the background of the third, showing
an M, has' survived. The fourth head has black hair and pointed beard,
the fifth grey hair and pointed beard, and the last represents a younger
man with a short beard. All the names have vanished.
The dado of drapery is separated from these medallions by a narrow
band of plaster, moulded or stamped with a running pattern of scrolls of
conventional foliage enclosing alternately flowers and fruit or seed vessels.
The style is quite classical. We must imagine that the design was picked
out in colour. There are a number of examples of such work in late
Roman and Byzantine architecture. For instance, in the south porch of
S. Sophia at Constantinople a plaster frieze is described as "a scroll
throwing out acanthus leaves and fruits like poppy seed-vessels. The
background is coloured blue."^
The drapery of the dado is white with a pattern of birds in yellow
circles. It is finer than that which we have hitherto met with, and the
* Cf. the order of the scenes in the Manual ; Didron, /.<-. 321.
* C£ Didron, ed. Stokes, ii. 356, Schultz and Barnsley, Monastery of St, Luke^ 43. E.g, in S.
Maria Bartholomew has a white I^eard ; in the Byzantine representations he is a youthful personage.
On the other hand, John is l)eardless, as usual in Western art ; the Byzantine type is an old man with
a long beard.
' Lethaby and Swainson, Sattcta Sophia^ 290. The design in S. Maria Antiqua is almost
exactly the same as one on a seventh-century door near Safa in Syria. De Vogue, SyrU Centrales
T. 24 and p. 69 ; reproduced in Cattaneo, Atchitettttra in Italia^ Fig. 24.
S8 The British School at Rome.
folds and shading are less rudely painted. To the left of the side-door in
the right wall it stops in order to leave room for a tall panel of the same
height, which contains the figure of a nimbed woman holding a child in her
arms (47). The latter has a necklace and earrings, and holds in front what
may be the upright of a yellow cross, but the fall of the plaster has
carried awav the hand and the cross-bar. There is no trace of a
nimbus. To the left of the figure is inscribed perpendicularly + H APIA.
The name which was on the right has disappeared. Af)art from the
manner in which the child is represented, one would not expect
tt> find the Virgin in such a subordinate position as this picture
iKCupies, and in all probability the figures represent St Anne and
the infant Mar}\ On the opposite or left wall, halfway between the
side-<loor and the angle, there are the remains of a similar figure hold-
ing a child, who appears to have a cruciform nimbus (48). Of the
inscription only APIA remains, but there can be little doubt that the
X'irgin and Child \\*ere represented here. There was no figure on this
wall exactly corresponding to the one opposite, f>., immediately to the
right of the door into the chapel of SS. Ouiricus and Julitta. But, though
the fall of the plaster has desta">yed all traces, we may certainly suppose
that there was another in the middle of the dado on the right wall corre-
s»fXv,>v{ii\i; to the remains on the left. We thus get a series of Holy
Mv^thors. just as in another j.\\rt of the church we shall find, in a painting
of Kuer date, Mary, KI:rabeth. a:ui Arnc, again associated in their
vharactcr of mothers vp- ^- -
humvVstatcA to the !e!\ of the '^wnel 4.**, on the dark blue background
lvh::K: the \v^ixv. ui> iiraixrv of the dado, the letters GA, forming the
o:\; v^f a xw^rvu are insx^ribcvi ix^rtx^nd:cu\irA\
Wo :un\ :urr. to the end«x\a*I of the S.inv:uar\- 140. The paintings
ho:v v\Axr the who'c wal* U'o to the crvnxr. of the bwirrel-x^u'.t. Thev are
,xvv\ v»x » »«^« t ""-v * -••<■ 'w-v'"' I \* **■* •^»'o'' *»•'»» "v"' »■ •v"»»*» ■»•■» \\ •*s>*>'^ i"*** \" trie* n<^ilf vtri^
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S. Maria Antiqua. 59
form of a head surrounded by six wings, the insides of which are covered
with eyes. They rest on red clouds. Below is the nimbus of one of the
figures at the foot of the Cross, viz., John. The space to the right of the
Cross is occupied by a crowd of white-robed angels, standing turned
towards the Saviour, and bending forwards in adoration ; the hands held
in front with the palms outwards. The inner group is robed in red, and
the outer in white drapery of the classical pattern. Their feet are san-
dalled. Even in their damaged condition some of the heads are of great
beauty. They stand at about the level of the body of Christ on the Cross,
and the space below them on either side of the Crucifixion group was
occupied by two blocks of inscriptions (ii lines), of which, as stated above,
only that on the right survives.
The inscriptions, which are painted in white letters on a red ground,
consist of passages from the Prophets relating to the Passion, taken from
the Septuagint. Each passage is preceded by the name of the Prophet
from whom it is taken. The lines read as shown on the following page.^
The words are not spaced in the original. The diphthong ov is always
written y.
Apart from cases of vernacular spelling (e,g,y the exchange of e and at
in dtriarepai^ 1. I, drja-ofie 1. 7, o-^ea&ai, 1. lo) the quotations are treated
with a certain amount of freedom, chiefly in the way of omissions. This
is specially noticeable in the first passage, and was no doubt due to
exigencies of space. The last two passages require some explanation, (iv)
is taken from Baruch, and it may be remarked that it appears under his
name in the Byzantine Manual, though in a different connexion.* Among
the mosaics in the nave of S. Sophia at Constantinople this text is inscribed
on a scroll held by Jeremiah,^ and the combination is found again on the
eleventh-century bronze doors of St. Paul's without the Walls.* There
can be little doubt that the same attribution existed in S. Maria Antiqua
for the final letters of the name of the Prophet preceding the text are AC
which, in view of the instances given above, can only be restored as
^ As the height is great and I had not an opportunity of seeing the inscription close at hand, I
give Manicchi's copy made shortly after the discover}' {Nttovo Bull, di Arch, Crist, vi. (1900). 296.
I have corrected it where possible.
' Didron, ed. Stokes, ii. 294.
• Salcenberg, AU-christliche Baudenkmah von Constantinopely T. xxx. i. So, too, in the
twelfth-century Byzantine mosaics of the church of the Martorana at Palermo.
* Ciampini, Vet, Man. i. 39, gives the words on the scroll as Hie D{ominu)s n(oste)r et n{on)
imfnUalntur alius.
6o The British School at Rome.
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S. Maria Antiqua. 6i
lepcfiiAQ} Baruch is frequently quoted as Jeremiah b}'' the earlier
Christian writers.-
The name of the Prophet from whom (v) is taken has disappeared,
but as all the other cases come from the Old Testament we may assume
that it was ZAXAPIAC, though the words come from John xix. 37, and
not from Zechariah xii. 10, where the LXX have €7nj3\iylropTai tt/jo? fi€
ap0* &v KaT(op^i]aavTo. (v) 6 ought to have been preceded by the name
MCjJYCHC, for the passage comes from Deuteronomy xxviii. 66 (zeal earai
rj fiwi; aov Kpefjuz/jiivrf airevavTi t&v 6<f>0a\fiS)v aov), interpreted as an
allusion to the brazen serpent, the type of the Crucifixion (John iii. 14).
As such it appears in the Byzantine Manual ^ and, e.g.^ on the doors of St.
Paul's without the Walls,*
The succeeding zone shows a crowd of persons standing, turned towards
the centre of the picture, with opened hands, adoring the Crucified. The
details are indistinguishable, but there can be little doubt that the scene
is a version of the worship of the Lamb by the redeemed as expressed in
such passages as Rev. v. 8 sqq. ; vii. 9 sqq, ; xiv. I sqq.
There appears to be a considerable gap below these figures before we
come to the next zone ; too wide for a mere border. Probably it was
occupied by another band of figures.
The upper edge of the zone below this coincides with the crown of
the apse, which therefore cuts it. That it forms part of the same design
as the upper scenes is shown by the continuous framing border on the
extreme right ; which is intact from the top of the wall downwards, and
encloses all the zones on this side.
Four nimbed bishops are represented, two on either side of the apse,
turning towards the centre. Those on the left are very faint, but it is clear
that the one on the extreme left had a square nimbus, and was therefore
a contemporary person, the founder of the Church or donor of the pictures.
As the fragmentary inscriptions show that the pair on the right are Popes,
it is probable that the others are also. We will postpone for the moment
the identification of the contemporary Pope. The figures on the right are
' Not noticed by Marucchi.
* Cf. Swete, Introduction to the Greek Old Testamcnty 274, for instances from Ircnaeus,
Tcrtullian, &c.
5 Didron, ed. Stokes, ii. 296.
* Ciampini, Vet. Mon. i. 39, gives the words on the scroll held by Moses: videvitis vi'ta{rn)
v[est)ra[ m) />enden{ tew ) .
62 The British School at Rome.
vested in the usual way, and hold books in their hands covered by the
chasuble. They stand in front of a low wall painted green, supporting
short fluted columns without capitals, between which hang festoons of
red drapery. On either side of their heads the name was inscribed in the
form S(an)c{tu)s . . . P{d)p{a) Romanus, The letters have entirely dis-
appeared on the left side. For the figure immediately to the right of the
apse there only remains (on the right), K)M«NVj (the first three letters
perpendicularly). The second figure has*" to the left of the nimbus, SO
MKRtinus(m three lines),i and to the right PP ROMANVS (the last word
perpendicularly). It can only be Martin I. (649-655). He seems to be
represented with the tonsure and a short beard.
The subjects on the wall spaces flanking the apse which form the next
zone have almost perished on the left, and on the right are, in their present
state, confused with remains of earlier and later strata of painting. A close
examination however shows that the decorative scheme which we have
been describing was continued here by full-length figures of the Fathers
(two on either side), standing facing the spectator. They were separated
from the drapery dado below them, which is a continuation of that on the
side-walls (p. 57), by an inscription in large white letters on a red ground.
From itsjposition and importance we may suppose it to have been the
dedicatory inscription of the whole work, but only fragments of the left
half remain.^ They read : —
-fSCAE • DI gcnetrlCl SKMpergi/e virgini ;;/^rIAE *
Of the Fathers on this side practically nothing is left but the nimbus
and name of the first from the left: +SCSC^ AGVS/IN«SC^. On the
right of the apse more is preserved. The heads, surrounded by the same
large yellow nimbi, at once betray by their style that they come from the
same hand which painted the medallions of the Apostles (p. 57). The
(perpendicular) inscriptions identify the figures as Gregory Nazianzen and
Basil. They read :
(Left) -fo Afroc rPHrOPIo? (right) O 0€OAOrOC^ :
(Left) +0 AnOC^^ bright) BAClXto?.
Mere traces of the drapery dado remain, as it has been covered up by
later work.
' Marucchi {Lc. 298) gives + SCS MAR//NVS.
^ Facsimile by Grisar, Civtltd, Cattolica^ Jan, 1901, p. 229.
S. Maria Antiqua. 63
From similarity of style we may associate with these paintings the work
on the low screen walls which enclose the space between the two piers of
the peristyle in front of the Sanctuary. Only the portion on the right
(50) has preserved its decorations. The lateral screens on the inside (/>.
the side open to the Sanctuary) were worked into a seat covered with
plaster, which is not returned on the cross-wall between the Sanctuary
and the central part of the church. The surface which forms as it were
the back of the seat was decorated on this side with three scenes. The
first (from the left) is almost entirely destroyed, but apparently there was
a background of mountains, as in the next panel. This is well preserved,
and shows David (in a short tunic with a staff in his hand) standing over
the prostrate body of Goliath. Behind are two hills, and the foreground
is covered with tufts of flowers. The only inscription is (in two lines)
GOfeATi. The third picture shows Isaiah warning Hezekiah of his
approaching death. The prophet on the right, with a roll in one hand,
raises the other with the * benediction * gesture towards the king, who is
lying on a bed (of the characteristic Byzantine shape seen also in the story
of Joseph) and turns his face away towards the left. Between them, in the
background, is a small beardless figure in white, apparently with a cruciform
nimbus, and holding what may be a cross-staff. The inscriptions give :
+ HEZECH1AS REXC^
/SAIAS I PROPHETA
+ DISPONE DOMVI TVAE | QVIA MORIERIS-^^
The pictures are separated by panels treated with a design of intersect-
ing circles divided into sections of different colours (Fig. 5). We shall
find It repeated in other parts of the Church.
From the collocation of these scenes it is obvious that they do not
belong to a series illustrating the Old Testament history, but are selected
as types of the Gospel. As we shall see later, they were probably continued
all round the screens which enclosed the choir (p. 88). The two scenes
which have been just described typify respectively the victory of Christ
over the powers of evil,* and the Resurrection.^
^ Isaiah xxxviii. i.
' Cf. the passage of Augustine which is read as a comment on I. Samuel xvii. in the Roman
Breviary (Dominica iv, post Pentecosten. Lect. vi.). Venit enim virus David Christus^ qui ami ra
spiritaJem Goliath ^ iti est contra diabohim fugnaturiis, (rue em suam ipse por/avit,
' Cf. II. Kings XX. 5. • Behold I will heal thee : on the third day thou shaltgo up into the horse
of the Lord.'
64
Till-: Hkiksii School at Romil
Before we attempt to discover the date of these pictures let us first
form some conception of their character as works of art, in order that our
judgment may not be prejudiced by any preconceived ideas as to the style
of a particular epoch. The condition of the walls compels us to draw our
inferences mainly from the group of adoring angels, the medallions of the
Apostles, and the small historical scenes. Their unity, so far as it is
possible to speak with any certainty of mere wrecks of painting, is one of
design rather than of execution. In fact it is obvious that several hands
must have been employed in carrying out such an extensive scheme. But
in looking at the fragments, one thing at least is clear, and that is that
He have entered a dilTerent sphere of art from that to which the paintings
previously examined belong. The general character of the wall-pictures
n... 5-
Ix'fofi.- US ina\- best bo described as ' classical,' that is t<j say they present
aiialoL;ics with Roman art not on!\- in such things as freedom of drawing
iind the tyi>es of the heads ^the i;rLmp of adoring angels is specially noticc-
alile' but also in the mettuxl of nnxlelling the forms in colour with which
we aiv f.imiliar in Roman wall-paintinijs. This may best be seen in the
female tit^ure ,4"' t-' the left of the side door, thoroughly Roman in
ihar.utor. .iml ni>^.!eiicil with a tinn and skilful hand. The heads of the
.\iv'-:'es ,itv drawn with harder lines, but the types are again classical in
ili.\i.n:,i. The small hi-torical scenes present some analcttjies with the
iiii;ii.i;i:iv> i;; lU-.-ai'-.-TK' Pil'lica: MSS.' bi:: the attitude and draperj- of the
S. Maria Antiqua. 65
figures, and the method by which relief is given to them, all suggest the
classical style of painting.
There remains the question of date. The paintings themselves
fortunately provide the limits of timfe within which their execution must
fall. The figure of the canonised Pope Martin I., who was banished to the
Crimea for opposing the compromise by which Constans II. tried to close
the Monothelete controversy and died there in 655, gives us the date before
which the work cannot have been begun. On the other hand, it must have
been executed before (probably a considerable time before) the accession
of Paul I. (757) whose contemporary portrait in the apse (see below, p. 73)
shows that that portion was redecorated in his time. In this interval of
about a century is there any Pope to whose patronage the work can be
attributed ? An obvious answer is provided by the Liber PontificaliSy
where in the life of John VII, (705--707) we read, Basilicam itaqtie sanctae
Dei genetriciSy qui Antiqua vacatur^ pictura decoravit} There can be little
doubt then that he is the bisliop represented on the extreme left of the
zone of Popes, in the character of donor.
John VII. stands out among the Popes of his epoch as the initiator of
considerable artistic works (with which, the * Book of the Popes * tells us,
his portrait was always associated) - both in the City churches, and above
all in the mosaics of his famous chapel of the Virgin in the Atrium of
St. Peter's, to which we have already had occasion to refer (p. 41). The
latter survived till its destruction in the seventeenth century, and frag-
ments of it are still preserved at Rome in the crypt of St. Peter's, in the
Lateran Museum, and in S. Maria in Cosmedin, and at Florence in the
church of S. Marco. A comparison between these fragments and the
paintings of S. Maria Antiqua at once suggests itself, but the difference
of the medium makes the results disappointing. Small scenes in mosaic
are never very successful, and in this case the unskilfulness of the work-
men has increased the rudeness and coarseness of effect, and conveys
the impression that the fragments belong to a much lower level of art
than the contemporary pictures. Nevertheless if the imagination trans-
lates the mosaics back into the original designs from which they were
•covering the ground there and in other instances. All these may be found, e.g, in the well-known
Byzantine Bibles in the Vatican Library (Gr. 746, 747).
> Lib, Pont. i. 385.
' Lib. Pont. I.e. : Ptxit vera et imagines per diver sas ecclesias qnasy quicunque nosse desiderata in
.tis eius vultum dcpicttim rcpperiet.
F
66 TaE British School at Rome.
copied, it is possible to see that the latter were much freer and better
drawn. This (in spite of much restoration) is especially Jthe case with the
fragment representing the Adoration of the Magi in the sacristy of S.
Maria in Cosmedin, where the angel, standing, as in the picture in S.
Maria Antiqua, between the Virgin and the Magi, must have been
copied from a drawing of considerable merit and quite classical in charac-
ter. It is still more interesting to notice that the scene in its complete
state (preserved in drawings made before its destruction) was practically
identical in treatment with the painting in S. Maria.^
If these pictures were executed by the orders of John VII., one of them,
calls for special notice. We have already seen that the Crucifixion in
the chapel of SS. Quiricus and Julitta was almost identical with John's,
mosaic of the same subject at St. Peter's (p. 41). The Crucifixion proper
in the Sanctuary here, apart from its adjuncts, is too much damaged for
any exact comparison to be made, but in one feature at least it belongs
to an entirely different type. The Christ is nude, save for the loin-cloth
{/^"risoma). It might be suggested that the picture in S. Maria was.
earlier than the mosaic of St. Peter s, but when we consider how different
is the setting of the scene here, it is perhaps not surprising that a different
type was used. Nevertheless it would be difficult to find a parallel to it-
at this o^xKh.-
\Ve can now su^i::e>t as a restoration o{ the fragmentary dedicator)'
inscription (p. 62',
•Sl.?»f\\/\?^ P^t^i i^rK:':r:\i jrr*;/;.Vr.\vi* JV;^';;;; Manae qui appcllatur
m ^ w % ».• • - ■f
We must now examine the fra^rments of painting in the Sanctuary
which aa" cither earlier or later than the decorations of John VII. The
latter wea^ apjxirently the only treatment \\ hich the back wall above the
apse ever ixvcixxxi. Hu: the aose itse'.f. anJ stil! more the spaces on
cither side of it were tVev;r.e:.:l\' n.v.ecora:evi. The fragments are best
pivs^^rvwi ar*vi the iiifferer.t strata :r..^s: easf.y d!s:inv;:ui>hed on the space
tv> the ticht of the a;^so.
* V^x" r,.v-o V >.;.< A. v.;;v ..* :-c xV.:. v-s: :x"v^r>vr:A:; .?.> / .;. :h; i.x^s. ^fS. Sabina j: Rome,
A-,- »Sx^ ;\v;\ 'v\ ;-.\ ;\x* Ur.,0- \;. >.n .v, Nn:>. '.xv.u>:\ .:" :>.; £:':h c^r.rj:n U Boch i\}^es k.«:w\
\-\\t i-'s-xvT',^ xv-.,n ^>x:a-. X- ;V^.;x-: . ' ^x^ Vr...o V:..>^:«r.- A.:.! ;o55i, £. $;>, cjdi, ir2b).
* rs V v_^^,v^x X ' \;:. >-. rv^ o ;.: S: Vf:i:> .^^»i:- re:, iv. T. 270. p. 97;
%V KxWv . X " , s
S. Maria Antiqua. 67
Here the lowest and earliest, and now, by the accident of the fall of
the later surface, the most prominent figure is the Virgin, robed and
crowned like a Byzantine Empress, seated on a jewelled throne with curved
arms. The Child is seated on her lap, and both face the spectator (51).
In her left hand the Virgin holds what appears to be a handkerchief
marked with a cross.^ The Child holds a jewelled book. To the right
can be detected the lower portion of a white-robed figure offering to the
Virgin, or rather to the infant Christ, his crown (therefore a martyr) sup-
ported by the covered hands. The picture, which is well preserved, is
elementary in drawing and modelling (e,g, the hands), coarse and crude in
effect, and altogether much inferior to the paintings of John VII. It is
in fact, just such work (possibly as old as the second half of the sixth
century) as we might expect to find in a church which had no special
importance until it was taken under the patronage of a Pope. We must
suppose that the Madonna originally formed the centre of a symmetrical
composition, and that the picture is therefore older than the construction of
the apse which destroyed the left side (together with part of the Virgin's
throne), containing, no doubt, another saintly figure corresponding to the
one on the right, and extending as far as the rectangular niche in the
middle of the wall (p. 21).
When the apse was constructed the remains of this picture were covered
up by another of which all that has survived is two heads, apparently of
angels turning towards one another. Some of their white drapery can be
seen, and also part of the wing of the one to the right. Probably they
were standing on either side of a Madonna (all trace of whom has disap-
peared), so that the original subject, the patroness of the Church, was
repeated in a new form. The well painted heads, with their classical
features and liquid eyes, remind one of ancient Roman painting. This
subject was, in its turn, replaced by the (presumable) work of John VII.
ix, the figures of the Fathers (p. 62).
When we turn to the space on the left of the apse, where the fall of
the plaster has revealed the lower part of the earlier strata more
fully, we see that the earliest was a panel of elaborate but rather
coarsely painted imitation of marble incrustation, forming a dado.^
» Cf. p. 52.
' Portions of this can also be seen on the side-walls of theSanctuar}', but there arc no indications
of what came above it there.
F 2
68 The British Schooi^ at Rome.
Probably this belongs to the same series of decorations as the
Madonna on the other side. The upper part of the design is concealed
from us. It was covered up at a later date by two full-length figures, to
which corresponded two similar figures on the other side of the apse.
Those on the left are the best preserved. Their dress shows that they
are bishops, for like the figures in the body of the church (p. 35)
they are vested in chasubles (dark red or brown) over dalmatics
with red borders to the sleeves, and round their necks they wear
the sacred pallium marked with Maltese crosses. In front of them they
hold opened scrolls covered with Greek lettering. The two figures on the
right of the apse are more fragmentary^ but here it can be seen clearly that
they are later than the Madonna ; and though by the one to the left, only
+0 AT IOC, but not the name, is preserved, the name of the one to the
right remains legible, lOJANNHC.^ ' They must therefore represent four
Fathers of the Church, the last of the four being St John Chrysostom ;
and the scrolls which they hold should contain quotations from
their works. Enough is left of the bearded faces and of the drapery
to show that the style of painting was coarse. The figures were
covered up at a later date by John VII.*s series of Fathers, and the
drapery dado belonging to it.
The names in every case but one have disappeared, and we are left to
conjecture what they ma\* have been, unless the writing on the scrolls can
provide some clue. Those on the left are fairly well preserved, but those
to the right of the apse arc very fragmentary*. The following are the
rc^ult^ which appear. We begin as usual from the left :
\,i'l .\t the beginning three or four lines have disappeared.
O
>i o I A c o n
€PeiAHON€CX
HKeNTO/ll€NA
or O VK ATC 'AZO
M V. O V C P € C T
H N T. C \ A O \ T
0\ AeCOMMCCCK
' r^v- n.unv Vis •v.s^v! l\.\iivM ,;. . -o. j;^^ :v.:.> th::.^::;; :ha: : hey are the four Evangelists.
■ * I
S. Maria Antiqua. 69
T€AOVTOCC lepecH
NTOVCOMAii/CKAIT
0M€N/VT0NA///A/
TVC0AVMACINTOA€
TVcvBiv.v.ei Nvno
nenioKeN ^
This IS a quotation from the Greek version of the famous * Tome ' of
St Leo, />., the letter which he wrote to Flavianus, Bishop of Constanti-
nople in A.D. 449 against the heresy of Eutyches, and he is the Father
represented in the painting.^ The passage is taken from Ch. 4, and should
be read on the scroll as follows : ^
[^Epepyel yap cKa-
ripa fiop<f>i] /x€-
ra T^9 Oarip^ov
ep iBiop eo*;^-
r)K€V'TOV fikv X-
oyov Kare^pYfa^o-
fii\v]ov o\Tre]p ear-
Iv rov \[6y]ov, t-
ov Be aoifxaTO^ €k-
T€\ov<p>TO^ OTTcp iazl-
V TOV <T(i}fiaTO^' KOi T-
o /A€v [a]vra}v h[ia\]d[fnr€i]
Tol? 6avfia<TLVt TO Be
ral^ vfipetriv vtto-
TriirTCJ/cev.
(ii.) Parts of all the lines (eleven) are preserved.
VTO"OC
7/A €N0N0VX
/NAi O0CAH
/A VACTA
^ The identification is due to the Rev. F. £. Brightman.
• lAbbe-Cossart, Coruilia^ iv. 1220. Mansi, Concilia^ v. 1377 A. cf. vi. 959. Migne, Patr,
Lai.y \vr, 768, and see the Introduction to the Letter for illustrations of the use Of the Tome in the
church services at Rome.
70 The British School at Rome.
l€CTINTO€MON
TOVcovKexopeic
/eNONAAAATOKOI
/ON€MOVI AICO
VON OCMHAOeO
THCOVTOh B
VAHCeiC+
This is taken from St. Gregory Nazienzen (Oratio xxx, c. 12), who is
therefore the person represented. It is to be restored as follows : ^
IV It TOtoJvTO TO O"-
\yv\a\pf6fi\evoVy ov^
[ ? ]i/a 7r[oi& t]6 0€\rj'
[/x]a [to €/jl6v, o]vB€ yd-
p ioTlP TO ifJLOV
TOV (TOV Ke^fDpKT'
[fx]€VOP, dWa TO KOL'
[p]bv ifjLOv t[€ K]al ao-
i), &V CW9 fiia ^€[0-]
T?;9 ovTOi /^[fa] /8[o-]
(iii) Part of the first line is preserved.
L lo^ei I lov
APIAC€[<////Vn//I
AA/VRNCAOrOV
oeop
€OPA
K€N
OVTON
XA
VAe
Tl
A
OA
r
Hoti /(})
A
M/
* Ed. Bentd. i. 548. Mignc, /Wr. Gr.^ xxxvi. 120. The identification is due to Mr. C.
Turner and the Rev. H. A. Wilson of Magdalen College, Oxford.
S. Maria Antiqua. 71
Some four or five lines below the last fragment appear the letters
€Nn.
The Father represented is St. Basil, from whose treatise, De Spiritu
SanctOy the quotation comes. It is distinguished from the others by having
-Si title, and reads as follows : ^
[Ka«(r]apta9 iK \To\if ir\€p\i
u[^lo]v TTvievfiaTo)^ \6yov.
'O €(i)p[a/c(o^ fie] ecopa-
K€v [toi/ 7r(a)T(€)pa,] ov top
Xa[paKTfjpa o]vB€
rr}[p fiop<t>i]v, Ac]a-
da[pa yap aui/^ecreei)]?
Tf 0€i[a] </>[v(ri9) aWa to]
a[ya06p tov ^cXj;-]
/xa[T09 OTrep avvBp-
ofiov OP rfj ovaia
ofioiop Kal taop
fiaXXop Be ravrbp]
€P 7r[(aT)pl teal vlfS Be-
(opelraL],
(iv) The scroll held by St. John Chrysostom is almost illegible. The
letters are smaller than in the other cases. The first two lines are entirely
<lestroyed.
AON
A VC ^1 \0APA
tVXHN ICI
I H N A M
ilOMh l€
NOVNnc I
HtAM
* De Spiritu SanctOy § 12., ed. Bened. (Gaume), c. viii ; Migne, Pair, Gr., xxxii. 105. The
identification is due to Mr. C. H. Turner.
72 The British School at Rome.
TCCXAIP
rvAl
IPC
Ai€
HA
C
A
ON
ON
1
HCt
K/
r 1 (0
e
The passage is taken from the spurious Sermo in S, Thomam Apos-
toluvi, and can be restored as follows : ^
^\(aavvov tov ^pvaoar-
ofiov ix TOV \6yov eU
Scjfiav TOV a7r6aTo]\ov.
[TavT]a [a/co^v(r[a^] ixdOapa
[tP/i/] '^vxv^ [a'rr]ia'T[ia<i,
direSvo'dfJLrjpl ri)V afi^
[(fyifioXop y]p(ofjLr}[v, a]i/i-
[Xafiov tov] povp 7r€7r[€to-/i-
€P0p]f rjyfrd/j.[rjp tov <ra)-
fia]TO<; X^^P\S^^^ ^^^ ^/^^"
[ficov, K]al €[^7]'\7rX[co]aa
[fl€Ta t]cOV [SaKTV\](OP
K[al TO t]/)? "^[^X^^^ o/x/xa],
/ca[i ovo XoifTOv ivep-]
7<€>tft)[i/] rj[a]6[6pt]v\
Mr. Brightman has explained the selection of these passages by
pointing out that they all appear among the Testimo7iia Patnnn cited at
the Latcran Council of 649 which condemned the *Type' or edict by
which Constans II. tried to silence the Monothelete controversy.^ This
being so, two important inferences may be drawn with regard to the
decorations of this part of the church. In the first place this series of
Fathers, together, perhaps, with the angels flanking a Madonna on the
^ K(l. Hcncd. (I'aris, 1738), viii. App. p. 15. Mii^nc /*///•. 6"/-., lix. 503. Mr. Brightni.m
i(Kntifk"<l the (juouilion.
' The references are :
\\,\>\\. Mallei, \. 1077 — Lal>l)e-C«»sarl, vii. 286.
(irej^nry. — — - — —
Leo. - 1007 -- - 304.
Clu\>«'>!>>iii. 1 105 = 314.
S. Maria Antiqua. 7j
right of the apse, which we saw belonged to the second stratum of painting
(p. 67), must have been executed between 649 and 705, the date of the
accession of John' VII. who replaced them by a new set of pictures. We
should thus be able, as has been already suggested (p. 8), to date the
successive decorations of the Sanctuary at intervals of, approximately,
fifty years ; the earliest about the year 600 or rather before, the second
about the middle of the seventh century (perhaps before the exile of
Martin I. in 653), the third at the beginning of the eighth century, and the
last in the second half of the eighth century. Secondly, if the paintings
which we may thus associate with the time of Martin I. were a monument
of the triumph of Roman orthodoxy in the Council of 649, we now see a
special reason for the prominence given to Martin in the decorations which
we have attributed to John VII. (p. 62). If the previous series was a
monument of the protest headed by the Pope, that which replaced it fifty
years later did not omit to commemorate the Pope himself on whom that
protest had entailed virtual martyrdom. We may further suppose that
the Fathers who formed part of the new decorations — though, as we have
seen, only the heads survive (p. 62), also carried in their hands scrolls with
their testimonia, Basil and Gregory would then be repeated from the
older series. Augustine is found among the Fathers cited at the Council^
and at considerable length.^ The fourth has entirely disappeared, but we
can hardly believe that Leo would be omitted from such a series in a
Roman church.
The centre of the apse is occupied by a colossal seated figure of Christ
(52), blessing with the right hand and holding a book in the left. On
either side was a tetramorph, i.e. the heads of the four Evangelic
animals combined in one form and provided with six wings.^ The one
on the right is the best preserved. Standing on the ground, to the left of
the Saviour, and represented on a much smaller scale, is a Pope with a
blue square nimbus. The well preserved head (full-face) with its black hair,
short beard, and rather melancholy expression, has a certain individuality.
On the left was his name (in two perpendicular columns)
+ SANCTISSIMVS | PAVLVS PP | ROMANVS +
The last word is inscribed horizontally over the nimbus.^ The apse
' Mansi, x. 1083.
^ As in Ezekiel i. 6 s</(/. Cf. Didron, ed. Stokes, ii. 265.
' All that can now he seen is ja//r7/VSIMVS I PAVAV I ROMAN//J +
74 The British School at Rome.
was therefore redecorated by Paul I. (757-767). The background shows
in the upper portion a blue sky studded with white stars, and below, from
the level of the shoulders of Christ, a wall of broad perpendicular stripes
alternately red and green. In its damaged state it. is impossible to say
much about the artistic character of this work. The figure of Christ is
impressive from its size, but the Pope is of the same character as the
portraits in the chapel of St. Quiricus.
Behind these paintings a few traces of the earlier decoration may be
detected. To the left is a large yellow nimbus edged with red, and beyond
it perhaps another. Below the feet of Christ, to the right, appears part of
a Greek inscription also belonging to this earlier stratum, />., probably, to
the work of John VII. The fragments (white letters on red ground, very
blurred) must belong to the last third of the inscription. The letters so far
<is they can be made out are as follows :
ONKNV//O0eOC€ll/NTHNCHNeiPlNHN/OCeiMe////////
Possibly this may have been intended to read :
t]oj/ K(ypio)v . . . o 0€O9 '7/a[w]i/ rifv arjv etprjvrjp \B]6^ fjfilv . . .
The dado of the apse shows coarsely painted red drapery with a
pattern of interlacing white circles (belonging to Paul's work), covering up
the earlier white and yellow hangings which can be seen on the side-walls.
Behind the scenes from the life of Christ on the right wall there are
faint traces of an earlier series, apparently also of the life of Christ, for the
only intelligible scene seems to represent the Procession to Calvary with
the three crosses being carried along.
Before leaving the Sanctuary we may notice that a low skirting of
marble runs round the base of the walls. It may be a survival from the
original decorations of the building. The pavement is better preserved
here than in any other part of the Church, and is clearly of two dates
(P'ig. 6). The greater part consists of square compartments of geometrical
patterns in white and coloured marbles (verde antique and porphyry) with
a porphyry disc in the centre, separated by bands of white marble.
Similar pavements (probably not older than the sixth century) may be seen
in the S.K. chambers of the portico of the Basilica Aemilia. It must be
remembered that excellent work of this kind could still be done in Rome
as late as the ninth century, as we see from the chapel of S. Zeno in
S. Maria Antkjua.
n
S. Prassede.' The work here is decidedly inrerior. At a later date the
strip next to the wall on the left and in front of the apse was replaced, no
doubt as a restoration, by much ruder work consisting of narrow compart-
ments enclosing discs and lines of porphyry, set in a field of white marble
tesserae. The same kind of pavement appears again in the part of the
Basilica Aemilia already referred to, which, apparently, was converted into
a house in the Byzantine period. P'ragments of it may also be noticed in
the lower church of S. CIcmente (abandoned towards the end of the eleventh
century) on the left side of the nave.
The front part of the Sanctuary, enclosed by the screen already
described (p. 63), was also rcpaved in the later style, and at a rather higher
level, so that there was a step down into the inner part of the Sanctuary.
It 13 to be noticed that the pavement is earlier than the screens which
have been built on the top of it. On the right, near the cross screen, one
n.. Fig, :
./'., J6.
n liic clcvcmh century
76 The British School at Rome.
of the white marble bands still retains the outline of two feet, the well-
known pagan symbol of a vow for a safe journey. Beside it is inscribed
COSMESES. In a neighbouring compartment a small porphyry disc is
surrounded by a ring of white marble on which is engraved
MATIA-COMPSE.i
The lettering in both cases is of the second century.
There can be little doubt that this raised platform indicates the position
of the altar, i,e. it corresponds to the bema proper of Byzantine churches.
The altar in the latter is generally placed, as here, well in front of the
apse.2
No traces remain of the altar which, we must suppose, was removed
with everything else of a portable nature, when the church was abandoned.
We know from the * Book of the Popes' that Leo III. (795-816) gave to
the high altar of S. Maria Antiqua a silver ciborium, i.e. a canopy of wood
plated with silver.^ In another part of the church one arch of a marble
ciborium has been found, which with the spandrels above it is covered with
characteristic eighth-century ornament.* We may imagine that it belonged
to the canopy which was discarded when Leo III.'s more magnificent
present took its place.
We now pass to the chapel (G) on the right of the Sanctuary. The
end-wall, like the chapel of St. Quiricus, has a square niche or recess, but
wider and lower down. This recess is not part of the original construction
of the building, like that in the chapel of St. Quiricus, but has been rudely
excavated in the wall. The floor of this chapel appears to have been
lowered long after the building had become a church, and perhaps it was
then that the recess was made. Its lower part, which was, presumably,
some feet above the floor, is actually below the level of the threshold of
the side-door into the Sanctuary ; and it will be noticed that the row of
saints, which is the chief ornament of the wall on the right, is above
* Federici's extraordinar>' idea (/.r. 2T) that this belongs to the twelfth or thirteenth century
and forms the signature of the mosaic worker — MATIA COMPOSE, scarcely needs refutation.
For instances of these * libertine* names see C/.Z. vi. 16061 sqq. and 22289 sqq. ; and cf. 22296
Alatia C. L. Gnoste.
' Cf. Salzenbcrg, Aii-chr, Baud, T. xxxix. 3 (St. Nicholas at Myra) ; and the plan of the
church of St. Luke of Stiris(Schultz and Barnsley, PI. I).
* Lib, Pont. ii. 14 : super cUtare maiifre cyburium ex argento purisiimo.
* Reproduced in Rivoira, Origini della Architettura LombarJa^ 202, Fig. 277. Fragments
of various marble ahaiks, also found in th9 church, may have belonged to the columns which
supported it.
S. Maria Antiqua. jj
the level of the top of the recess, so that if the drapery dado
below them were continued round the chapel it would be cut by
the recess. But the base of this dado is too high up to have
ever marked the level of the floor, and we must suppose that below it
the wall was originally covered by panelling or by a structure of some
kind. If we were to suppose that this chapel were the diaconicon of the
church, the armaria which held the sacred books, vessels, and vestments,
might have occupied this position. When the floor was lowered these
arrangements disappeared ; and it became necessar}', as the original dado
was left, so to say, in the air, to provide a new one to fill up the interval
between it and the new floor. This was done by painting on the bare
brickwork, for at this level there was no longer the ancient coating of
plaster,^ which, apparently, was utilised throughout the Church, wherever it
existed, as a surface for the Christian paintings.
This late decoration is fairly preserved in the right-hand cornerof the right
wall, where we see on a white ground (with the brickwork showing through)
a yellow Latin cross, jewelled and adorned with pendants, and surrounded
by monograms which read, *I(?7(roD)9 X(pi<7To)9 0(eo)t v{io)<^ vi\K\a}
The most important and best preserved fragments of painting in the
chapel are the Saints on the right and entrance walls (53). If the series
was ever continued on the left wall all traces have disappeared. The figures
begin on the' right wall, just to the right of the indications of a screen or
beam which, as in the other chapel, marked off the space immediately in
front of the altar. The pictures inside this have gone. Outside, the following
can be seen. The names are inscribed perpendicularly beside the figures
and are always preceded by + o AT IOC. We pass from left to right.
(i) The lower part of a saint in Byzantine official costume (red chlamys
and white tunic).
(ii) An ecclesiastic. Only the tonsured head with its nimbus, and the
bottom of the chasuble and tunic are left. As the monk who comes next
is evidently Dometius, the name inscribed to the right of the ecclesiastic's
head must belong to the latter. It is BAPX •////, perhaps Barachisiu^, a
Persian martyr {Mart. Rom., March 29 ; cf Ruinart, 584).
(iii) A monk in black, the head covered by a a pointed cowl. To the
* I.e. the backing on which we must suppose that the original marble decorations of the walls
were fixed.
' For the last part cf. e.g. Journal of HelUnic Studies^ vii. (1886), 153, and the (qy. eighth-
century) pectoral cross in N. Bull. Arch. Crist, vi. 260, T. x. It is very common.
7^ The British School at Rome.
rU^ht is the name, A(OM€TiC%. ^farr. Rom. (Aug. 7, as ako in the Eastern
Calendar) : Nisibi in Mesopotamia S. Dometii monachi Persae^ qui cum
duobus discipulis sub luliano apostata lapidatus est.
(\\) A bearded figure in classical costume (red pallium ;, with some sort
of headdress (indistinct), holding what appears to be a scroll bound round
with a ribbon. The name inscribed to the right apparently belongs to the
next saint (Panteleemon), so that here, perhaps by a miscalculation of the
Hpaccs, the name has been omitted. The object in his hand, and perhaps
the headdress, show him to have been one of the medical saints (see
below;.
(v) A lay saint (beardless) in Byzantine official costume (yellow chlamys
and white tunic), holding cross and crown. To the left of the head is in-
scribed, nANT6A€HM0N. Panteleemon, known in the West as Pantaleon,.
i.H regularly represented in this manner in Byzantine art,i so that here the
name and the figure must go together. He is another of the medical
nalnts, and well known both in East and West Quly 27).
(vij A tonsured ecclesiastic in a red chasuble holding a cross and,
fxrrhaps, a book. The figure is much damaged and it is impossible to
H«iy whether or no he were a bishop. To the left of the head is inscribed
+OAriOC^. The name which was to the right has disappeared.
On Ihc entrance wall there were originally seven figures. Only those
on the left are distin^aiishable.
(vii) A beardless saint in a long cloak open in front, resembling a cope
(rcfl with a pallcrn of large circles). He holds a roll, and on his head was
'i(»inc kind of headdress. Tc; the left is his name, lOJANNHC. See (ix).
Cviii) A sainl (beardless) in classical costume (tunic and pallium) :
kt ACOC. As all the other saints of the series are Eastern, this is probably
not the (t'lsiisof Milan, the companion of Nazarius, who appears in the
modern Roman Calendar on July 28th, but the martyr of Antioch under
Dioi letian (Jan. 9th in the RcMnan Martyrology), whose relics, with those
of Ills companion Jnlianus, are preserved in the church of SS. Celso e
(iinliann (near the Ponte S. Ant:[elo) which is at least as old as the twelfth
eenturv."
(i\) Little more than the nimbus is loft, but the name may be restored :
AHUAai'/)<»v.
' Pi.liMH. ti, ; ;o. .yw Svh-.ilt; aiul runislo) . M.u.istf'y cf S:. /.;.'^V, 55 (cf. 44, n. 5)
■' AinuIliiM, C ;. , ;«» ;.
S. Maria Antiqua. 79
Among the Eastern saints received in Rome during the Byzantine
occupation, few had a greater vogue than Abbacyrus and John (Jan. 31st.).
Singly or together they are represented no less than four times in this
church, and though their names have disappeared from the modern Calendar
and lists of dedications, Rome and its environs once contained four or five
churches under their patronage. They owed their popularity to the belief
that their intercession was peculiarly efficacious in curing sickness, for they
belong to the class of medical saints. Cyrus, who had been a physician
at Alexandria and then became a monk (hence dff^d^ KOpo? — Abbat
Cyrus), suffered, together with a soldier called John and others, during
the Diocletian persecution in Egypt. Their cult dates from the dis-
covery of their bodies in the time of Arcadius ; but their relics were not
brought to Rome till just before the capture of Alexandria by the Saracens
in 634, when they were deposited in the little church on the right bank of
the Tiber, opposite to St. Paul's without the Walls, which, under a strangely
corrupted form, still preserves the tradition of its name as Sta Passera.^
The back wall of the recess behind the altar contains full-length figures
of five saints, very much damaged (54). Each has the nimbus and the
name preceded by + O AnOC. Beginning from the left we see :
(i) A saint with a short beard, in classical costume (red pallium), holding
in his right hand a roll like that described above * : KOCM AC. The medical
Saints Cosmas and Damianus, martyrs of the Diocletian persecution, had
become popular in Rome even before the Byzantine Conquest, as may be
seen from the still-existing church on the opposite side of the Forum,
founded by Felix IV. (526-530). But they were none the less Eastern
importations, and during the Byzantine period several churches were
dedicated to them in Rome. Unlike some others, they maintained their
position in the West, and still appear in the modern Roman Calendar on
September 27th.
(ii) The next figure is much damaged, but the name can be read :
ABBAKYPOC.
(iii) A deacon in a long white tunic (the dalmatic) with two red stripes
down the front, and wide sleeves edged with a double border of the same
colour. With his right hand he is swinging a censer, which is an open
^ Mai, SpiciUgium Romanum^ iii. (which is almost entirely taken up with an account of their
miracles, and sermons in their honour) p. \\. ; Armellini, Chies^y 945.
2 P. 78 (iv).
^>o The British School at Rome.
bowl (apparently containing fire) hung by three chains. CT64>ANOC.
The central position of St. Stephen perhaps suggests that the chapel (in
its later form) Avas dedicated under his name, or that some Pope of the
name of Stephen was interested in these decorations. We might think
of Stephen 11. (75--757\ the successor of Zacharias, or Stephen III.
( 768-772 \ the successor of Paul I. But as this chapel corresponds to the
li/itiOPiiiVN in the plan of a Byzantine church, the figure of St Stephen
may refer to the purpose to which the chamber was devoted.
Jv"^ Nothing is left of the figure.^ The name however is clear,
nPCKOniC. It would have been interesting to see how Procopius
•vjuly Sth'^ was represented, lor while the older tradition Tollowed by the
Western Martyrologies^ describes him as an ecclesiastic of the rank of
Reader or E.xorcist, the Eastern Church, where he was much more famous,
made him a soldier, and he is regularly represented as such in Byzantine
art-
^v^ The figure is gone, but AAH4AN0C can be read. See on (i).
The sides of the recess are decoratevi with the design of intersecting circles
dcscribevl on p. 63.
It is interesting to notice, as illustrating the vogue of certain saints in
Rv^nu" in the oichth centurv. that most of these names are to be found in
the :i< v^f rvMv:< iii S. Ar.i^c.o a: the fine •::" its restoration by Theodotus
i\ 4; . Iho tV*!.^Air.c :'A:r.o> vvciir ::^ it : Stcvhar.us, Ce!sus, Abbaquirus,
K-hA-rx^<. P. :r.ot:'.:>. IVvV ^i^ius, i\i!:t,v!*v\ :\ v.\->:r.A<, Damianus.^
\V::h :v\;a:\: to tho Ar::<:i>: charactvr :: t'^e^c" l ictures it may be said
• V. )• •*■*,% •*.-■.. v»,.. x.,» . ^.» •*-% ■» .-^ - *-^ • .1 ;*' .. *■» . -*•% : .-^» - ••""■' "\«"r[if*vt*lv \i"f*ll nrp-
*», ♦^x X >^ «•« »•.. ' r-x - •*» \«« •■ *■» •^ ^\- : — •" •* ■* •>>.• •'■*-■' <.;*'•■•-'» ** i'*." I^nt* iViPr*< ar#^
\\\^" Wv-vlVv:. A ^: :hc c\y rx:«u •: < /\r*^^^^ ^ -- "^^res in the recess
.viv <o i^^uch .:;:a; uiAtO'.: :*Mt i: :< v' -:u:: :.^ v.i>< a.:*y ;uc^:ment on their
v^^ci-'^- x:hA:A>::o:. ^;:t tVv ,u vdr :/ Sc '^.iv'^ ^:o.:^scr than those on the
I ho i*.;;*'^t V. ,; * *-A- \-: a' :> .-vX . ■ .;: .^^s :i\;h u;.^ are some indistinct
i'>*:\ ,v *^. - V. " ^"* ^.v' 'v ,■ -: \:\ - v-: .^ ■ '*ro-i :^c^re and a cro>^
" V
--.^^■" .. • '.
S.^ Maria Antiqua. • 8i
with the A and o) hanging from its arms, but reversed, i.e, the o) is to
the left. It has been pointed out with regard to a similar instance in
Rome that this peculiarity is probably due to a Greek hand.^
We now pass to the aisle on the right side of the church (D). For
various reasons the paintings on the main wall here have suffered more than
those on the ojpposite side of the church, and the merest scraps remain.
We can see that there were two tiers corresponding to the Old Testament
scenes on the left wall, and, so far as can be judged by the faint outlines re-
maining, that they were in the same style, and perhaps by the same hands
as the latter. Below them, instead of the row of saints, there were apparently
more scenes. The surviving fragments, which are to be found on that part
of the wall which is opposite the space between the north-west pier of
the peristyle and the first column on the right, seem to point to a series
connected with the Gospel History (55). The inscriptions, like those on
the opposite wall, should be in Latin. Nevertheless it is difficult to see
how the first set of letters given under scene (i) is anything but the
termination of a Greek name in -ias. It may be remembered that on the
opposite wall the names which identify figures are inscribed perpendicu-
larly, and the descriptions of the scenes horizontally. On the upper tier
there can be made out :
(i) A nimbed figure in long drapery is bending or moving from the
left towards the centre. On the background behind it, above a mountain,
are the letters (perpendicularly) I ACL To the right of the nimbed head
appears (perpendicularly) *ANN. All the rest is gone.^
On the lower tier are the following :
(ii) A female figure like the Virgin {i.e. in a black or dark blue garment
coming over the head), lying on a bed with, apparently, a swaddled infant
beside her. She raises her hand towards a beardless figure on the left,
who extends his right hand towards her. The traces certainly appear to
correspond with a familiar representation of the Nativity in Byzantine art
(iii) Three male figures standing and apparently conversing. The two
outer ones are bearded, and all hold circular objects like dishes. Over the
*M.G. Lacour-Gayet, Mdauges (V Arch, d d'Hist., 1881, 229, on the graffiti ofthe columns of the
temple of Antoninus and Faustina. Cf. LsLncisLnly /^ut'ris and ExcavattoftSy 221. For other Western
examples see C./.L. v. 3100, viii. 450.
' In a church dedicated to the Virgin it would be natural to find a series giving the story of her
life. If we restore the two names above as [Zaxap](oj and ''Ai'i'[a], it might be suggested that the
scene b the Presentation of Mary in the Temple. Cf. Didron, ed. Stokes, ii. 348.
G
S2 The British Schooj:, at Rome.
head of the first on the left is inscribed horizontally 'MA"". This might
represent the Magi preparing for their journey.
(iv) The next scene shows the lower part of the same three figures,
presumably the Magi presenting their offerings to the infant christ
This aisle, like that on the opposite side, was closed at its upper end
by a screen with a gate in it On the wall just outside this is a fragment
of a scene, on a lower level than those previously described, which shows
(v) The conventional representation of a prison, standing isolated in
the centre of the panel. At an oblong window appear three faces (beard*
less). It is difficult to say whether the heads are represented as sur-
rounded by hair or by flames. The crossbars of the window arp
represented between the heads. On the right are the letters (perpen-
dicularly) ^OEA. The last letter is not certain.^
The most prominent object in this wall is a roundheaded, semi-circular
niche ($6) excavated in the wall opposite to the space between the norths-west
corner pier of the peristyle and the next column. It is painted with
figures of the three Holy Mothers. In the middle stands Mary with the
infant Jesus. SCA is inscribed to the left, but the name has gone. On
the left is St. Anne holding the infant Mary, with SCA ANNA inscribed.
On the right is Elizabeth with John the Baptist, arid SCA E//SABET
inscribed perpendicularly, as are the other names. These paintings are in
a different style from any that we have yet seen, coarse and rude, yet not
wanting in a certain firmness of touch, and not without suggestions of the
classical style. In the peculiar effect of the white eyeballs they remind
one of some ninth-century pictures in the lower church of S. Clemente
and in the crypt of SS. Giovanni e Paolo. In any case they are
among the latest works in the church, for the niche must have cut into
the previous wall-paintings. There are indications that the space
immediately in front was enclosed by a low brick screen, so that probably
there was an altar under the niche. In illustration of this appearance of
the cult of St. Anne at Rome it has been pointed out^ that Pope Con-
stantine was at Constantinople in 710, the year in which the relics of St.
Anno were translated thither, and also that her story was represented on
some embmideries given to S. Maria Maggiore by Leo III. (795-816) who,
^ The ivlcniit»ouuv>n <^i ihe subject is noi obvious. The prison does not seem to be consistent
with A vepiYseutrtiion of the Thive Children in the fun^ce.
* By the Kcw U. \». Vvinnisior. .N*. fiu.W .Vr.-4. Cris/, vi. (1900) 294, n. I
S. Maria Antiqua. 83
it may be remembered, was also a benefactor to S. Maria Antiqua. It
may be added that the names SCA ANNA SCA ELISABET occur in the
list of relics at S. Angelo in Pescheria.^ But if we are right in believing that
the three Holy Mothers appeared among John VII/s decorations in the
Sanctuary (p. 58), St. Anne must have been known at Rome by the
beginning of the eighth century.
We have now to examine the angle piers of the peristyle and the space
between them, including the Choir. We begin with those nearest to the
Sanctuary.
Pier on the left. On the larger face of the interior angle we see a fairly
preserved painting of the Annunciation (57). The angel advances from
the left, blessing with the right hand, and holding a long staff in the left.
Mary is seated on a high cushioned chair. Between them on the ground
is an object, perhaps a basket. The picture, with its attitudes, draperies,
and modelling with high lights on the flesh, is a good example of the
survival of the * classical ' style, and of considerable merit. Nevertheless
the fall of part of the plaster reveals the fact that it is only the replica of
an earlier work from which it has apparently been copied. The nimbus of
the angel and the staff in his hand occupied the same position in both
pictures, and the place of the feet has only been slightly changed. To
the earlier stratum belongs the inscription (black letters on white ground),
a combination (in the form of the * Hail Mary ') of the salutations of the
angel (Luke i. 28) and of Elizabeth {ib, 42).
+XAIP« KS^apiTOD-
MGNH O Ky fi€Ta cov
eVAOrHMfwy Gv
eNfYNAIZI Ka\ eu-
AOrHMeNO* 6 Kap-
nOCTHCKOIX/a^ trov
There can be little doubt that one of these pictures formed part of the
decorations of John VII. Indeed the design is practically identical with
the scene as represented in one of John's mosaics in his chapel at St. Peter's.^
On the smaller interior face, at right angles to the Annunciation, is a
full-length beardless saint (lay), holding a cross before him in the right
* Grisar, Analecta Romana^ i. 174, 1. 22. ' Gaitucci, iv. T. 280. i.
G 2
84 The British School at Rome.
hand and a crown in the left covered by the chlamys. The latter is ydlow
with a pattern of red circles, and bears the tablion. There is a square of
embroidery on the right arm. Beside him is inscribed (in two perpendicular
columns), + O AflOC AHMHTPIOC. Though the effect is so much
more stiff and ' Byzantine ' (in the popular sense) than that of the
Annunciation, it was executed at tlie same time as the second version and
possibly by the same hand. Both <^ow exactly similar treatment of the
folds of hanging drapery with sharp angles. The contrast may be explained
by the derivation of the Annunciation from a much earlier original.
Demetrius, a proconsul martyred at Thessalonica under Maxlmian, is
one of the fAtyaKofiapTvpe^ of the Eastern Calendar (Oct 26th. Mari.
Ram. Oct 8th), and a prominent figure in the Byzantine scheme of
church decoration.^
On the face of the pier which is on a line with the columns of the
peristyle, is a fragment of the ri^t side of a picture of the Virgin seated
sideways, turned towards the right, with her hands dasped under the
Child on her knee. Round her head was a large yellow nimbus. The
st)de is ' classical ' and not at all conv»itional in treatment Above are
the remains of lettering which may have referred to the picture on the
upper tier, now entirely \-anished. Below, on the fragment of a circle, is-
painted (white letters on black ground) XC.
Nothing is left on the side opposite to the left aisle. On the back face
of the pier, looking towards the Sanctuar}* and the chapel of St. Quiricus,
are traces of a large picture {y^ry faint) representing Christ flanked by four
figures (58V The one to the left represents the \'irgin, and the bearded
figure on the right John the Baptist Part of his name still sur\-ives i»ANNIC.
Of the outer pair onl\" the traces of the head on the left ha\-e sur\-ived. It
is on a smaller scale than the other figures, and perhaps belongs to a donor.
Above the row ran a Greek inscription (\"er}- fragmentary), apparently
continuous. On the left only detached letters can be made out In the
part abo\*e the head of the central figure is the following fragment :
MX€CCK €C€
^ IXvlixHV* <vt SiwXcx iu ^^SSv l\>a$4vkHrii"^ how li::> :h<^ pc^ijoc d* the fsctcres in the church
c\>nts4XHKls xfciih the duvc^:kx\> o: iNr MaxiiuK i: b i^ctbd:^ .xi'v ji co«nc>i«ic^ iha: ihe latter puu
Sx. IVwH^Utt* A^>|>«vv\iuvA:v<> ir. tSf ^^cxr in >*hici" ut r.:xi him bcnr. • Oat>ide, lon^irds the
>ii>l^rtV oh^>ii» iv|>«\^>ct\; :hc ivtrx-i.M, iu.ii?vis: S:. ^•cw'^^^ .^r. :hs: r%:h: : >: Demetrius on the left/
Itt Utvf l^tAUUiv .ii; hx i> i\nHv>c..:cvi jc^ Ji >i.:cxu -c >* '^"x- church v>c S:. Lu'kc of Stiiis (Schultz
S. Maria Antiqua. 85
On the wall opposite are traces of a large picture representing the
Three Children in the furnace (58^). They are nimbed, and stand in the
flames, facing the spectator, with arms extended sideways, wearing cloaks
fastened in front.^
The screens enclosing the space in front of the Sanctuary have on this
side lost all their painted surface. The white marble posts for the gate in
the middle still remain /;/ situ. They are square, and fluted on every face,
so that they are either adaptations of ancient work or else, perhaps, the
original screen had open cancelli instead of a solid wall. We have already
noticed (p. 75) that the present screen is later than the pavement on which
it rests.
The pier on the right shows on its principal face two large pictures, one
above the other (59). They are thoroughly * classical ' in style, and no doubt
contemporary with the * Annunciation ' (p. 83) and the Virgin and Child
(p. 84) opposite. We may therefore feel justified in including all the
decorations of these piers among the works of John VII.
(i) The upper (much damaged) seems to represent Christ enthroned,
attended by two Archangels. A male figure is seated on a throne with a
red cushion and high footstool. On the right stands a draped figure with
the right hand raised. A similar figure on the left.
(ii) In the centre, and facing the spectator, stands a nimbed woman
enveloped in a purple mantle which comes up over her head. Her right
hand is raised and opened outwards, and in her left she holds a fringed
handkerchief. Around her are seven male figures of different sizes, each
with the open hand raised. On either side of the woman is inscribed per-
pendicularly, H APIA COAQMCjJNH, and above the tallest figure on the left,
€A€AZAP. Underneath the picture are the remains of an inscription, the
first part of which is quite gone. About the middle appears
////VMC IK€PMl///7
The group represents the seven Maccabees standing around their mother
Solomone (or Salomone). They were commemorated both in the East and
West on Aug. ist, as forerunners of the Christian martyrs. But the
* The treatment of the subject is the familiar one in Byzantine art ; e*.^., Schultz and Barnsley,
cp. (it.^ PI. 54, p. 57, n. 8. The remains are too fragmentary to show whether the angel was
represented alx)ve the Children. We may well suppose that on the corresponding wall-space to the
right of the Sanctuary (where all traces have vanished) the regular pendant to this scene, Daniel in
4he den of lions, was represented. Cf. Diehl, Convent de Saint LuCy 58.
H6 The British School at Rome.
ICantcrn Calendars arc jxrculiar in giving them names.^ Eleazar occurs in
thcHc li.stM an the name of one of the brothers, and — although there is a large
j^ap in the .surface to the left — as there do not appear to have been more
than seven figures besides that of Solomone, and the figure of Eleazar is
that of a young man (he is beardless *), there can be little doubt of the
identification here. Otherwise, it might have been suggested that he is the
IClea/ar who ap[)ears in the history of the Maccabees as the first martyr
under Antiochus, and the example which was followed by the seven
brethren. He is also commemorated by name with them in the Greek
(iiilcndur."
On the smaller interior face of the pier, corresponding to St. Demetrius
opposite, is a female saint in a white dress under a red mantle which comes
over her head. She holds the cross and crown but the latter has dis-
iip|>care(L To the right of her head the name was inscribed, but the paint
<»f the letters has gone.
On the face which corresponds with the columns of the peristyle, high
up can be seen the lower part of a white-robed figure. The picture is
framotl with a red line.
On the back of the pier, facing towards the Sanctuary, are traces of three
(or probably (\\\\ as on the opposite side) full-length nimbed figures.
ri\e\ apprar to irprisi-nl an ecclesiastic with a book, a figure holding a
loll ul p. "S, !u>. i\ \ ai\il a la\- mart\r with the cross and crown.
'\\\c M rni^s o!\ \\\c insiilc o\' the low screen enclosing the Sanctuary,
whuh to\u hcs this pirr. I\a\e boon already described (p. 63). On the
*»ntiM lavo» K>okini; into ihr i. hoi!\ the scono nearest to the pier is fairly
ptosourd v<H^^ On ll\o lott is the wall, with towers at intervals (red),
ot a \\t\» upon whiv'h stanvis a Ivardod man with raised hands, accom-
patuovl b\ othoi (i::u\v's IVlvnv. ii^ the centre, stand two figures of
\vh\%honl\ tlu^ Un\vM \\\\{ i-x Piv^Norxovl, Hut they apj^ar to be won*ien,
* \»'5, x» V •■• *. . . * ;.\ *\S4,«. "A^""*:.*':, r.no.a, *E\cajfa^i, EvcrcjSwKa,
U» x»,',\x,uts, . « / , V\ . •. X N'.v. ;" '."^ :. \ ;^S T>v: ^ ihcr Kltv^rar i^ an old man
\\ . • » ■ . ■ « . ■ s \ ■.
* \ ^ * ^ * , ^ .^ ':>...> " ,' \; ;,v . \\ V \\ V . -,• •• xrc: > ti'i^rcsev.tcv: as pre>ent
^^ '''•*•' • ■' ^ . * , . : . . ',^ .: ,; '^ :"■?">-. V\ ^> tv.-.zvr'c. i^n llx
•' *^- ■'• ' •^^ '» V , •, , : ". : /..'.:•:,. v. NF.
•
S. Maria Antiqua. 87
the one on the left in a jewelled dress, and the one on the right in grey.
The right of the picture is occupied by a camp, with soldiers in conical
helmets sleeping in the tents. On the last tower of the wall, and therefore
nearly over the richly dressed female figure, is part of a perpendicular
inscription which is to be completed thus, CAPYT Olofernis. There can be
no doubt that the scene represents the exploit of Judith, and it appears
here in the series of types with which the screens were decorated (cf. p. 63).^
The choir seat was not returned on this side, and the scene is framed
both above and below by the pattern of intersecting circles previously
described (p. 63, Fig. 5).
The peristyle on this side, in front of the Sanctuary, was formed by an
arch (now restored) resting on the two piers. The original spring of the
arch on this side is preserved together with some of the painted decoration
on its under-side. It shows a double ribbon-pattern in red on a black (/>.
probably blue) ground.
Pier to the right of the entrance. A small niche has been excavated
in the principal face of the interior angle in which is painted (61) the Virgin
and Child — hardly more than the bust. To the left is the monogram bf,
and to the right M* for 17 a'^ia Mapia, The painting is rude, and perhaps
of the same epoch as the three Mothers in the niche on the right wall
(p. 82). In the sill of the niche is a cavity, perhaps intended to hold a
light. On the space below the niche fragments of small figures appear.
The one in the centre can be recognised as the regular Byzantine type of
Daniel.* He stands facing the spectator, with hands extended sideways,
wearing a white mantle lined with red and fastened in front over a green
tunic and yellow hose. By his left foot is a small lion looking up at him.
The one on the other side has disappeared. Daniel was flanked by two
saints, but only a fragment of the one on the left (an ecclesiastic in a
chasuble) remains.
The space in front of the niche, as far as the first column of the peri-
style, is enclosed by screens, one of them being, of course, part of the main
* Cf. the representation of the scene in the Byzantine Manual (Didron, ed. Stokes, ii. 288).
* A lofty city. Below it many tents are visible within which soldiers are asleep. In the midst [is
the tent in which Holofernes lies]. Judith, clad in sumptuous apparel, stands before him, bearing in
one hand a bloody sword, while with the other she places the head of Holofernes in a wallet which
her servant holds for her,' &c. Cf d'Agincourt, Histoire de tArt^ iii. PI. xlii. 3, where the scene
(from the eighth century • Bible of St. Paul's') is accompanied by the words CAPVT OLOFERNL
' For examples, see Garrucci, iii. T. 150 ; Schultz and Barnsley, PI. $4 ; etc.
88 The British School at Rome.
choir-screen. Probably, therefore, there was an altar here. The floor is
paved with slabs of white marble and grey granite.
The choir-screen is fairly preserved just at the angle where it touches the
pier and returns to form the cross- wall in front of the entrance. The con-
tinuous seat on the inner side, which is also returned, is made of slabs of
white marble covered with stucco painted to represent coloured marbles.
On the wall which formed the back of the seat was a series of scenes i^
sembling in style those on the Sanctuary screens (pp. 63, 86) and therefore,
probably, like them representing Old Testament types. The lower part
of the two at the angle (62) is preserved. The one on the left shows a
battle scene. In the lower right-hand comer (all that has survived) a
Aorseman is riding towards the left over a dead body. Behind him are
soldiers. The scene on the right, which apparently occupied the whole
space between the pier and the gate into the Choir, shows the jewelled
footstool of a throne. Towards the person seated on it a richly dressed
figure is advancing from the left, where some guards are standing. Behind
them appears a background of mountains.^
The outer face of the screen has been twice painted with imitation
drapery, the last time in a very coarse style.
The pavement which is preserved within the angle of the screen, and
is apparently contemporary with il, is a patchwork of large fragments of
white marble and grey granite. Underneath appears the original brick
floor of opus spicatum.
The pier to the left of the entrance had entirely disappeared and has
been rebuilt. A good deal of the structure of the choir-screen on this
side of the church remains, but nothing of the painting on its inner face.
At the back are fragments of coarsely painted drapery, which is also found
on the screens (63) which connect the northern piers with the entrance wall.
The four granite columns of the i^eristyle were coated with plaster, and
painted. Only the one nearest to the Sanctuar>' on the left (64) retains any
distinguishable traces of the subjects. It shows on the face looking towards
the Choir a pair of full-length Saints enclosed in a rectangular frame which
occupies about two thirds of the circumference. The one to the left is a
beardless ^H^rson in a long brown habit {no cowl), with bare feet.^ To the
* It twi^ihi Wsu^:j;rs;i\l thai ;h:srvprr<cnts the visit of the Queen of Shcba to Solomon.
* rho only VxHuhtvil a\v\ U\ti\Ucs3!i asvx'iic tW>crilx\! in the H)Tantine Manual is Sl John
S. Maria Antiqua. 89
right is a soldier (only the lower half). He wears a slate-coloured cloak,
short red tunic, yellow hose, and boots.
The central space enclosed by the choir-screens was originally paved
with brick opus spicatnm^ and later with a patchwork of slabs of white
marble and grey granite, a portion of which, as we have stated (p. 88), may
be seen in the angle formed by the screens on the right. Resting upon the
former is an oblong octagonal base of rough brickwork (65). It occupies
only the approximate centre of the Choir, as it is set rather to the left of
the axis of the building, and the short ends only correspond roughly with the
inner lines of the bases of the peristyle columns. It can hardly, therefore,
have belonged to the building in its original condition, but must have been
erected as part of the arrangements of the church. The channel for a drain
or waterpipe which passes under it longitudinally to either end of the
Choir suggests the cantharus or fountain which was a regular feature in the
atrium of churches of this period. In that case we should have to assume
that originally the open peristyle court formed the atrium, and that the
church was in those days restricted to the present Sanctuary. But it is
improbable that this was ever the case. On the other hand the channel
may be older than the platform, and connected with the ancient impluviuvi
now buried beneath it, which would naturally occupy the centre of the
open space. If we were free to think this, the analogy of S. Sophia at
Constantinople might suggest that this was the base of the anibo. In
S. Sophia, as we learn from the description of Paul the Silentiary, the ambo
stood in the centre of the church, but rather towards the East, with flights
of steps leading up into it from either direction (/>., from East and West).^
Whether it stood in the middle of the choir, or, as at S. Clemente, in the
line of one of the choir-screens, the ambo is one of the few features in
S. Maria Antiqua about which our scanty documentary evidence gives any
information. We have seen before (p. 65) that John VII. decorated the
church with paintings, and the passage in the Liber Pofitificalis continues,
illicque ambonem noviter fecit?' Part of this ambo has actually been found
in the Choir, discarded, and laid down in the floor immediately in front of
the step leading up into the Sanctuary. It is an oblong octagonal slab of
^ Salzenberg, Alt-chr. Baud. Anhang, p. ii. Lethal>y and Swainson, Sancia Sophia^ 54, and cf.
Fig. 5. In the poem of Paul the Silentiary the passage occurs in the section entitled fxippaffts rov
i/itfimwos 1. 21 Sf/i/.
• Zi6. Pont, i. 385.
90
The British School at Rome.
white marble (now split) measuring 1.3 m. by 73 cni* On the thickness
(which recedes slightly inwards) of the three sides at either e^ is inscribed
the name of the donor in Greek and Latin.
^^
m
n
lohannes servu{s) s{an)c{t)ae M(a)riae.
The letters are raised in sunk panels. 'To the inscription itself we will
return in a moment, but first we observe that the slab must be the floor of
an ambo similar to the one which may be seen on the left hand of the
choir at S. Clemente, and in other churches. The long sides of the slab
have no inscriptions, because they were covered by the stairs which led up
into the ambo from either direction ; while the two ends projected, so that
the words on them could be read, below the marble parapet which formed
the front of the pulpit in which the reader stood. Traces of the lead
which was run into the clamps which fastened the latter can still be seen
in the upper face of the floor-slab. The place where this or, perhaps, some
later ambo stood is still marked in the choir-screen on the left, opposite to
the column of the peristyle nearest to the Sanctuary (66). These traces
consist of the bases of three of the marble posts at the bottom of the two
flights of steps, grooved so as to receive the ends of the slabs which formed
the balustrade on either side of the ascent. The arrangement, as we have
said before, was exactly similar to that of the existing ambo in S. Clemente.
If the bases are in their original positions, as they appear to be, the stairway
must have been extremely narrow ; but the whole structure was quite
S, Maria Antiqua. . 91
small, as might be expected in a church of this size. On its. removal (when
and why, there is nothing to tell us), the space which it had occupied was
filled up, so that the choir-screen on this side became continuous. It
appears, therefore, to be probable that the discarded ambo of John VII.
occupied, originally, the space indicated in the left-hand screen of the choir.
It was a new one, as the Liber Pontificalis tells us, and that which it re-
placed may have occupied the octagonal base in the centre.
The inscription of John VII. exactly resembles, both in its lettering and
expression, the marble fragment in the Crypt of St. Peter's, which came
from his famous chapel of the Virgin in the old basilica. It reads^
+ IOHANNIS S^RVI SCAE MARI^E.^ At the time of the destruction
of the chapel it contained another fragment with the words THC
0€OTOKOY, so that, as in S. Maria Antiqua, the name of the donor
appeared in Greek as well as in Latin.^ Moreover, beside the central
figure of the mosaic (the Virgin, now in S. Marco at Florence) were the
words, loJiannes indigniis episcofnis fecit beatae Dei genitricis servus? John
therefore regularly described himself as * the servant of Mary,* an expression
of devotion to the Virgin which is found in the Greek world about this
time or even earlier.*
Before we leave the church we must notice the burials which took
place in it. These were not numerous, for during the period of its ex-
istence the older practice (itself an innov-ation on the customs of the
classical period) of burying in the atrium or precincts of a church still had
the upper hand. There was one grave in the chapel of SS. Quiricus and
Julitta, of a form which will be described later (p. 105). In the right-hand
main wall of the body of the church a few loadi have been excavated^
perhaps at a very late period, and after the abandonment of the building
as 21 place of worship. More important are the ancient sarcophagi which
have been brought in Byzantine times from outside the City to be used as
coffins. There are four. One is fixed against the wall immediately to
the right of the side-door on the right, leading from the vestibule or outer
^ Facsimile in Grisar's AnaUcta Romana^ i. T. ii. 7, and p. 167. Cf. Civilth Cattolica^ March
1 6th, 1 90 1, p. 728.
* On John's Greek origin see p. 7.
* Gamicci, iv. T. 279.
* The seventh-century MS. of the Acts in the Bodleian, known as the Codex Laudianus, has
at the end an entry of ownership in the form, Ocarrwicc /So^^t; toO 8oi/\ov <rot/ rprryotpiov JitaK6vov,
&c. P. Batiflfol in M^iattges cCArch, et d'HUt, 1888, p. 307.
92 The British School at Rome.
church (67). It was above ground, and its ornamental face is turned
outwards. This has the ordinary undulated fluting, broken in the middle
by a * tabula ansata ' bearing the inscription which follows :
D M S
CLODIAESE
CVNDAE CONIV
GI DVLCISSIMAE ET BENE
MERENTI QVAE VIXITAN-
XXV • MEN • X • DIEB • XIIII • IN
CONIVGIO MECVM FVIT SI
NE QVERELLA • AN • VII • M • IIII •
DIEB • XVIII • L ^ CAELIVS • FLO
RENTINVS • 7 • COH • X •
VRB • POSVIT
NAT • MAMERTINO • ET
RVFO • COS • PRI • NGN •
AVO • DEF • XV • KAL • IVL • APRO • ET MAXIMO CoS
The dates of birth and death are August 4th a.d. 182, and June 17th
A.D. a07i and a mistake of a year has been made in the ^gt. Nothing has
been added to indicate the name of the later occupant of the coffin.
On the same side of the church (now placed on the screen-wall
between the rij^ht pier and the first column of the peristyle) a child's
sttrcoj)hat*us of white marble was found buried. It is an ordinary work of
the third century, and shows on its front the common design of two
winded ti|jui*es supporting; a wreath in the middle, with a weeping Cupid
at either end.
On the opposite side of the church two large marble sarcophagi had
l>een burietl in graves under the floor. Neither has inscriptions. The
one, pi\>l>«vhly of the thin! century, is rectangular, and its face is sculptured
with two |>airs i>f tn\|;jic n>asks flanked by festoons of fruit supported by
thive l>oys, The other, which was found in the space between the left-
h«o\d pier neaivst the entrance and the adjoining column, has rounded
entis which, tx^ether with the fn>nt, are otn^cred with Christian subjects
n> u lief, in the style v^f the f\>urth century. The scenes, all of which can be
\]lu>uatt\l Uxxm other w^mKs of this kind, arx" as to]lows(from left to right).^
^ r^o >>Mv K'^>>\ j»vU> ,K\<^h \\v;S S\ INvNi. XUittvvhi in :V ,V, ivj^Z .^nk, CHsi, viL (1901),
S. Maria Antiqua. 93
(i) On the rounded end of the sarcophagus, a ship with two sailors.
To the left a sea deity seated, holding a trident.
(ii) A nude figure (Jonah) lying under a tree. At his feet is a sea
monster. Above the tree are two sheep and a goat.
(iii) A female figure with raised hands (an * orante ') standing between
two trees.
(iv) A male figure clothed in the pallium, seated reading in a roll which
he holds with both hands. Perhaps intended to represent the original
occupant of the sarcophagus, studying the Divine Law. The faces of this
and of the preceding figure have (as is often the case) been left unfinished
in order that they might be converted into portraits.
(v) A shepherd (beardless) holding a lamb over his shoulders. Two
sheep at his feet.
(vi) The Baptism of Christ. A figure, wearing only the pallium
baptises a small, nude, beardless figure standing in water. A dove flies
down towards him from a tree on the left.
• (vii) Two fishermen (nude) with a net. On the rounded end of the
sarcophagus.
It is worth while to notice how the burial under ground of these
ornamental sarcophagi, even when representing Christian subjects,^ reflects
the artistic conditions of the time and place. Monumental tombs were
indeed not unknown in Byzantine churches, but the general contrast is
between the Eastern or Greek ideal of decorating a church with a complete
and consistent series of pictures and decorations which cannot be broken
into by extraneous pieces of ornament, and the Western mediaeval
practice, picturesque but irregular, of filling a church with chapels and
pictures and monuments, none of which belong to a uniform scheme. It
is not till a later age in Rome, when the Greek world had vanished and a
new art was springing up, that we find an ancient sarcophagus introduced
into a church to serve as a tomb, but with its sculptured front now utilised
as part of the decoration of an elaborate sepulchral monumenf-
* II was not that the subjects were misunderstooil, for the story of Jonah vias well known to
Byzantine art, and its treatment was derived from the same tyj^e as the representations on the
sarcophagi. E.^^, in the Menologium of Ba.^il II. (ed. Albani. Urbino^ 1727) i. 61 (Sept. 22nd). Cf.
Didron, ed. Stokes, ii. 286.
^ The two earliest ca'>es are the Fieschi monument (1256) in S. Lorenzo Fuori, and the Savelli
monument (1266) in the Araceli.
The Briti-h School at Rixil
III. — The Ovt£5. CnvkCH oj. VEsmrLE.
Tie inl^ ii i2De great hall £ through -arhfch the cfa cacfc ppofucr
iccriacfred- -sere also covered with paintings, exteads^ o«icr tdoe liargc
:i-iirT:i'ag zrjd rectangiilar niches which break the fikocs oc tiie sade-
-viZL-f^ Tre panted surface is in a much worse coociiaoQ dan ic tSae mier
•irunfi- arid cc^c^sists either of detached fragments or of rca i faobat traces.
W* begin at the main entrance, and pass round the walls firocn lclttK>ff^ht
"^TT— ^.o tc* the same point.
T:r right and ieft of the great door b\- Ti-hich we enter finoca the dfirectooo
</ tbe Fomm, tao small niches have been excavated in the maEL sEmEIar
ts tiicisc which we have seen in the church. Three smaS fiaEll-fcngth
S^-j r e s o4^ saints are painted on the back of each of tfaesau nsilcs on
tie right, females on the left. The figures in the niche to tfac r^ht 68]
are Ye7>' faint, and their names have quite disappeared, but it is dkear that
the>' were three mart>TS, in Byzantine official costume, boldii^ ciosses: and
cnys'ns. If, as was a{>parently the case, the\* formed a p j'TM ia 'n i t to the
group in the niche on the left, we should expect them to be mai t>r s
connected with Roman churches. Such names as George; Sdnstian,
Theodore, suggest themselves.*
The niche on the left ^69^, of which the right-hand portioQ is dcstrarcd,
«Jy>ws two female saints in jewelled Byzantine dresses and tiaras. Oner
the head of the one to the left is inscribed H APIA the letters combined in
a monogram, as in No. 61, p. 87) ATNH, and o\'er the one in the middle
KHKH AH A, ^so preceded by the monogram. They stand under a sort of
carjop>' formed by an architrave (on which the names are painted) sup-
jy>rted hy a column at either end. The background is blue. If we
tr>' to conjecture the name of the vanished third saint who accompanied
Agrees and Caecilia, it might be suggested that Agatha is, perhaps, the
o*rxt test known of the virgin mart>TS, and there were dedications to her
*7i R^/me. But considering the position and associations of this church,
»-e rr,ay say that no name is more likely than the one which follows
ryrir* in the Canon of the Mass, viz. Anastasia.- As patroness of the
• Or. *.h*r piaster v^me bilingual monk (perhaps) h:i5 5cra:ch«d his niaie
PETR7/J
HETPOj
'*■ r 'xc-rt in ::.♦: list in tht Xcbi: quor.n.
S. Maria Antiqua. 95
mother church of the district between the Forum and the Aventine, to
which S. Maria Antiqua belonged, and still more as patroness of the Court
Church of the Imperial Government in Rome, a connexion which, as is
well known, obtained for her under the Byzantine dominion an exceptional
liturgical position,^ this somewhat mythical personage may well have
been associated here, as in the Canon, with the two great Roman virgin
martyrs.
Standing opposite to the centre of the left wall we see that, at one
time or another (though of course after the building had been converted
into a church), passages were opened under the three rectangular niches
so as to provide communication with the corridor outside, which forms a
continuation of the incline up to the Palatine. The two nearest the
entrance have now been filled up for constructional reasons, but the
central one was closed while the building was still in use by a kind of
shallow apse (70), marking, perhaps, the site of an altar. The scanty
traces of painting at its two ends, which are all that is left of it, show
small figures of saints. To the left, and on the same level, one of the
niches with which we are familiar has been excavated in the wall,
but the painting within it has vanished. To the left of this again
is a fragment of drapery belonging to some saint in classical costume.
Above the apse the opening still remained (now closed, as in the other
cases), and its inner sides have been painted, perhaps at a very late date,
after the floor had been filled up to this height. A dado of drapery with
birds may be seen, and above this were scenes apparently from the life
of St. Antony (71). One represents his burial, with the inscriptions
S-ANTON/i/j and DEMONES.^
The painting in the great semi-circular niche to the left (72) is very
fragmentary, and it is difficult to speak with anything like certainty
about the subject. The existing traces would be consistent with the
colossal figure of some sacred personage, occupying the whole height of
the niche. Low down on the left there seem to be the remains of a
square-nimbed kneeling figure, holding two votive candles (cp. p. 52).
As may be seen by some fragments to the right, the niche, or the wall-
* Especially the fad that the Station for the second Mass on Christmas Day is at her church.
For the history see the study of Mgr. Duchesne in Mi'latiqcs d^Arch. et tTHtsi^yi^Tt 387 sqq, ;
supplemented by Grisar, Anaiecta Romana, \. 595 sqq,
I take this from Marucchi's account in the N, BulL di Arch, Crist, vi. 292. Nothing can be
made out now.
96 The British School at Rome.
space next to it, was bordered by the design of intersecting circles
which we have noticed in the inner church (pp. 63, 87). Just below this,
and forming part of the same scheme of decoration, is the bust of
(presumably) a Pope in a circle enclosed in a square frame (73). There
are no traces of the name, but the face was beardless, and the pallium
round his neck has Maltese crosses. Immediately to the right of the
frame is a fragment of inscription painted on the plaster :
LEO^
It is clear that these are the first words of the lines, and as faint
traces of letters may be detected in the corresponding space on the
opposite side of the niche, we may suppose that the recess formed by
it was at that time built up flush with the main wall, so that, possibly,
the inscription was painted right across the surface. This is confirmed
not only by the existence of the above-mentioned small apse (70) below,
no doubt intended for an altar, but also by the arrangement of the frame
formed by the pattern of intersecting circles, which, while it borders, as
we have noticed, the great semi-circular niche to the left, and returns
above the medallion of the Pope, does not reappear till we come to the
edge of the corresponding semi-circular niche on the right (75). The
central rectangular niche was therefore, perhaps, originally covered by a
large framed picture which filled up the space between the two semi-circular
nicheSy and the inscription below it, and above the small apse, perhaps
had reference to it It was probably after the floor of the vestibule had
become filled up to the level, perhaps, of the base of the niches, that
ttie painting and the back-wall of the niche behind it was broken through
I ferm a passage, the walls of which were decorated with the story of St.
ony, as described above (p. 95).
rhere are traces of a corresponding medallion of a Pope in the space
the ri^t of the central niche, and immediately below is the portion of
inscription (74). Its size, and therefore the number of missing letters,
y be ascertained with some accuracx*, as the space is defined by the
ments of the red frame which enclosed it. We can sec that part of
list line fe preser\'ed, that five or six letters are mis>ini^^ on the left of
S. Maria Antiqua. 97^
the first two lines, ^ and three or four at the beginning of the last two
lines.
TVONOMINEXPI
^ISTORIA • GATDENT
^ • PINGEREFECIT • EGOLEO
RASXFI-SACER-ET-MON C
To show how the lines may have run, though not as a certain restora-^
tion, the following might be suggested :
[D{f)c{at)a s{an)c{t)d] tuo nomine Christe [fide]l{es)
istoria gaudent, [Noscas] q(jii) pingere fecit.
Ego Leo [dedi pictti]ras Christi sacer{dos) et fnonac{hus).
The istoria would be the pictures on the wall. With the last line may
be compared an eleventh-century inscription from S. Sebastiano on the
Palatine :
Ego Benedictus p(res)b{yte)r et vionachus pingere feci?
It is clear that the fragment mentioned above (p. 96) refers to the same
person. Leo must have been a common name at Rome in the early
Middle Ages ; otherwise we ipight be struck by the coincidence that the
picture of the Ascension in the lower church of S. Clemente wais * com-
posed' by a presbyter, Leo, in the time of Leo IV. (847-857).^
In the lower part of the great semi-circular niche, which comes next (75),-
are the remains of three male saints. The two best preserved are bishops
vested in dalmatic and chasuble with the pallium. To the right of the
nimbus of the middle figure is inscribed (perpendicularly) €PAC///i so that
this must be St. Erasmus whom we have already found in the [inner
church (p. 33). The letters to the right of the second figure are less
certain: AN is all that can be made out. Probably there was a row of
three more figures above them.
In the space between the opening into the corridor and the angle of
* As the letters vary a good deal in size and spacing, there may have been more.
• Armellini, Chiese, 525.
' Miillooly, St, Clement (2nd ed.), 285. The inscription runs,
Qtiod haec pr<u cttnctis spUttdet pictttra decore^
Componere ham siuduit praesbyier ecce Leo.
Cf. Grisar, Anal, Rom. i. T. vi.
H
98 The British School at Rome.
the vestibule, low down, a semi-circular, round-headed niche (76) has been
•excavated in the wall. It is painted, much in the same style as the saints
on the left wall of the church (p. 34), with a colossal half-length figure of
£t. Abbacyrus (cf. p. 79). Behind his head is a lai^e yellow nimbus, and he
holds in his right hand an instrument like a stUus^ only that it has a small,
sharply-pointed head which touches an object to his left, which apparently
represents a box with two handles. These no doubt represent, tfapugh it
is not clear that the artist understood what he was copying, the emblems of
the medical art ; the spatha or spatula^ and the case of drugs.^ On either
side of the figure is inscribed perpendicularly O ATIOC ABBAKYPO^- The
sill of the niche has an oblong cavity, perhaps to hold a light (cf. p. 87).
Immediately above this niche, but considerably higher up on the wall,
is a painting of Christ between SS. Abbacyrus and Jcdm (jf). The figures
are full-lengths with yellow nimbi, and stand facing the spectator. That
on the left (Abbacyrus) is represented with white hair and a long beard,
and the hands are raised and open in the ritual attitude of prayer. He
wears a long, sleeved garment of a dark colour over a short red tunic.
The figure on the right (John) is beardless. . He holds a small cross in
front of him* with both hands, and is enveloped in a loi^ and richly
patterned cloak, open in front, just as in the picture of the south-west
chapel (p. 78). The Christ holds a book, and blesses with the right hand.
Below, to the right, are the last words of the two lines of inscription, in
rather small and poor white letters on the red ground.
AbbMcV^S ET lOHS
ping ERE ROG/?VIT«^
The beginning of the second line must have contained the name of the
donor.*
The style of this painting, which is fairly preserved, is different from
anything of the sort previously described. It is coarser, stiffer, more
elementary, and undoubtedly belongs to a later age, when the traditions of
Byzantine art were no longer a living influence in Rome. It may even be
* I have not come across any other example of Abbacyrus holding these objects, but they may
be seen, e.g, in two Byzantine representations of another medical saint, Pantalcemon. Gori,
Thesaurus Vet, /);>/., iii. 354, T. IV. ; iv. 7, T.I.
* For the formula one may compare an ivory in the British Museum (described as German,
nth or I2th cent.) with ob amor{em) cs Kadcgid{is) fieri rogavit. See Spitzer Coll. Catalogue,
ri. IV. 58, and p. 13. Also the ioscription on a well formerly at the church of S. Marco in Rome :
£ie chnis Dei et san{c)ti Marci Johannes presbyter ^cri rogabit. Arniellini, Chiese, 462.
S. Maria Antiqua. 99
as late as the eleventh century. And this helps to explain its position.
We have already noticed some indications of a raising of the floor of the
vestibule in the last period in which it was used as a church (p. 95). Here
too, when the niche, and probably altar, of St Abbacyrus became buried,
a new shrine was erected to him and his fellow-saint, John, at the level of
the new floor and just above the old one.
In crossing to the opposite side of the building, there may be noticed,
just to the right of the central doorway, the following letters rudely
scratched on the painted surface of a fragment of plaster (78) :
6T6AHCO0H6NKCOCSI
It is difficult not to think that this graffito was intended to indicate the
date of the completion of the painted decoration of the vestibule. I give
the following interpretation for what it is worth :
€T€\€ii>0ri iv K(ypi)^ K'^^0 S'^' (6300).
As the era of Constantinople is probably the basis of calculation, this
would give A.D. 792, or rather some years later, for probably there were
some letters (perhaps stating also the month) after the last given above. In
any case the style of the paintings in this part of the church (excepting the
later additions) would suit very well the time of Hadrian I. (772-795).^
In the passage leading from the vestibule to the right aisle of the
church, a small lociiluSy only large enough for a child, has been excavated
in the wall on the right (79). Part of the painted inscription on its front
still remains, and may be conjecturally restored as follows : *
Hie dep^ositus) in guieFK'
— puer no mint T heod^^WS
filius qui vixit annOS'V
m{enses) . . . d{ies) . . . Depipsitus) sub DIE )•
•/r
^
' A Greek translation of the Dialogues of St. Gregory in the Vatican . Library is dated thus :
/rcXffui^ 8i ^ $i$\os aSTTj firfvl iiwpiKitf ciWSt irp<6rj7 Irovt^ pn}' (6308 = 8oo). Melanges ctArch, et
J Hist. 1888, 302. A graffito would naturally be in a less elaborate form, but cf. the inscription
recording a restoration of the church at Forza d'Agro near Messina, which ends : fivTylrtfc/r; 0^(01;)
^K(i^fMo)j_* lT(fi) rx»' (6680 = 1 171 A.D.). Not. Scav.f 1885, 87. The era of Constantinople
was probably used at Rome ; i.g, in the dedication by Theodotus at S. Angelo in Pescheria
(Duchesne, Lib, Pont, i. 514. Grisar, Atuil. Rom, i. 175). The interpretation suggested receives
some support from the identification of the Pope in the picture described below (p. 103) with Hadrian.
' The fragmentary letters on the last line can hardly belong to a consular date, for the epitaph
must be later than the end of the sixth century. Moreover the mark of contraction only belongs to
the first of them.
H 2
loo The British School at Rome.
On the right wall of the vestibule the following remains of painting can
be made out Banning from the left, next to the angle of the wall, was
a picture (80), apparently a full-length of some sacred personage, but only
traces of the drapery remain. On the red frame, to the left, is part of the
inscription (written perpendicularly) indicating a dedication by a lady. It
may be completed thus :
{mip A<t>6C€U)C AMAPTHCON THC AovXift CHC ^
The first two of the great constructional niches above seem to have
been decorated with full-length figures of saints, in two tiers. One may
be seen on the right side of the rectangular (f>. the first) nidie, and others
in the semi-circular one which follows. A passage has been cut through
the wall below these, and under the next (or rectangular) niche is another,.
of narrower dimensions (81), the sides and roof of which have been painted
with figures of saints which appear to be of the same date and styie (if
anything, rather worse) as the picture of Abbacyrus and John on the
opposite side of the building (p. 98). On each of the side-waUs were
five full-length saints. There is hardly anythii^^ remaining of those oa
the left. Those on the right apparently all represented lHsh<q>s, wearing
the pallium decorated with Maltese crosses, and holding books. Over
the head of the first from the left can be read /////ASIVS, and over the
second SCS BA///// The .remains of figures on the roof, which were
painted so as to face one on leaving the church, show, to the left, a saint
(half-length) in white draper}- of the classical type, while the centre was
occupied by a medallion, no doubt enclosing a head of Christ or the
Virgin. These figures of saints are continued in the interior of the
Temple of Augustus, but nothing of importance remains. The passage
was cleared out as far back as 1885, when the figures were described by
De Rossi.^ His account may be given as supplementing and explaining
the existing remains. On one side (the right) were the figures, with the
names of
SCS • BLASI VS
SCSBASILIVS
.... /AYRRn/nis
CRISTOFARVS
* Analop^^us expre^ssions are ct^mmon in Greek dedications. E,g. Jommal-ot Hellenk Stuaieiy,
xi. (1890)236. SchuUf and Bixmsley, Mjttasftfy t/ St. Lttit, 2S( = I>ichl, lo).
• Sm::, ,4nk. Cn>.\ (S. iv.). 18S5, 14a.
S. Maria Antiqua. ioi
On the opposite side (the left) only one could be made out
SCS-BExNEDICTVS
He attributed the paintings to the eleventh century.
High up on the wall above this passage, in the space to the left of
the central (rectangular) niche, can be read SC/ CRESCENT/, with
illegible traces of a second name, in poor letters like those under SS.
Abbacyrus and John (p. 98). The picture, which has disappeared,
belonged no doubt to the same date. Perhaps it represented the group
of SS. Vitus, Modestus, and Crescentia (June iSth), who were connected
with an old church in Rome which was restored by Stephen HI. in the
eighth century.
There are considerable remains of painting, though much damaged, on
the next section of the wall. Originally it was treated, below the level
of the niches, with large pictures and a dado of drapery beneath. When
the practice of burying in loctili, excavated in the wall, was introduced,
part of the design was sacrificed. Thus, immediately to the right of the
last-mentioned passage, two loaili were cut in the wall, destroying the
existing painting, so that a new arrangement had to take place. The face
of the lower loculus has disappeared. It cut through the original dado,
and a new one was, no doubt, painted below it. Part of the front of the
upper loculus remains, with an inscription (probably metrical) of six or
s^s^w lines painted on it, but only a few isolated letters can be made out.
As it must have destroyed the original painting, the remaining space was
filled up by two new and smaller pictures. That to the left (82) shows two
saints (half-lengths) enclosed in a frame of conventional foliage (red) of
the character of the acanthus. The figure to the left is a bearded monk
in a dark blue cowl. His right hand is raised in front of him holding a
small cross, the traces of which have disappeared. The figure on the right
is a female with long hair, and undraped. The saints are, no doubt, the
two ascetics, Antony and Mary of Egypt. The painting is coarse and
elementary in style, and just like that of the saints in the passage (p. loi).
The picture to the right of this (83), and immediately above the loculus^
is much fainter, but shows a Christ enthroned, draped in red, and holding
a book in his left hand, between two angels each with a staff in his left
hand, and the right raised and open. At his feet, to the left, there seems
to be the prostrate figure of a donor ; the face looking out of the picture.
I02 The British School at Rome.
•
We next come to a picture which does not appear to be original, as the
drapery dado below it, though of the same character, does not exactly
correspond in level with the remains still further to the right which prob-
ably represent the earliest arrangement The frame contained two full-
length saints, but all that can be made out is that the one to the left
represents a bishop (probably a Pope) with the pallium.
Next to this is a much larger and better preserved panel (84), which, as
we have suggested, probably belongs to the original (perhaps eightfa-cai-
tury) decoration of the wall. Below it is a dado of hangings of the same
design as that which we have frequently noticed in the inner church (p. 56).
Of the picture itself enough is left to show the broad features of the
design. The Virgin and Child are enthroned in the centre, with three
saintly personages on either hand, the one to the extreme left being a
contemporary Pope, and therefore the donor. The figures stand fadng die
spectator, in front of a red wall, finished at the top with a band of yellow,
above which the background is blue (now black). Of the Madonna little
is left, but she was attired in the manner of an Empress. Both she and
the Child extend their right hands towards the group on the left, as if
accepting the presentation of the donor. To the right of the Virgin's
head is inscribed in two perpendicular lines
///ARIA REGINrt
The next figure to the right is a Pope (short white beard), in a
yellow chasuble and pallium with elongated Maltese crosses, holding a
jewelled book in both hands. On either side of him is his naif^e, which may
be restored
SCS j/LBESTRVS
Only the last few letters now remain. Beyond him, on the right, are a pair
of beardless saints in Byzantine official costume (white tunics, and red and
blue tablia on the chlamys), holding small crosses in their right hands and
crowns in the left. Their names must have been inscribed in the space to
the right, where the plaster has now disappeared. Those of Sergius and
Bacchus at once occur as a probable suggestion, and this conjecture is
converted into practical certainty when we observe that round the neck of
the figure to the left, who would be Sergius, the ring which, as we noticed
on the previous occurrence of this pair of saints (p. 30), is their distinctive
S. Maria Antiqua.
lOJ
mark, is clearly visible. In the case of the second figure (presumably
Bacchus) the traces are much fainter.
The saint nearest to the Virgin on the left is a* Pope. He holds a book
with both hands, and the crosses on his pallium are of the second form
given on p. 35. He is represented with a short beard. His name was
inscribed in the regular form (cf. p. 62), Scs .... PP Romanus ; but only
the end of the last word has survived (to the right). Next to him, on the
left, a saint is introducing the donor to the Virgin. The saint is a youthful
personage with a short beard, in Byzantine official costume (white tunic and
yellow chlamys with red tahlion), and his left hand is extended with the
gesture of introduction. The donor, whose features have vanished (he may
have been beardless), holds by its back in a slanting position a jewelled and
clasped book. His name was inscribed to the left of the square nimbus
behind his head, in the same form as that of Paul I. in the apse (p. 73)^
The letters which remain are arranged as follows : —
I
M
V
S
A
N
S
P
A
square
nimbus
From the style of painting we may feel fairly certain that the picture is.
not later than the eighth century. The only Popes of that age whose names
end in anus are the two Stephens (the predecessor and successor of Paul I.)
and Hadrian (772-795). The letter which precedes the A appears to have
been an I, and this is decisive for Hadrian. The whole will then read
[Sanct\issimHS [Hadr\ianus [Pa\pa [Romanus^
The last word was perhaps inscribed, as in the case of Paul I., horizontally^
above the nimbus.
If Hadrian be the person intended, we may conjecture that the saint
who introduces him is his name-saint, an officer martyred at Nicomedia
I04 The British School at Rome.
*
under Maximian, ind the patron of the church whidi, since tiie seventh
century, occupied the old Curia in the Forum. That Hadrian did attadi
some importance to the connexion may be seen from the fact that he raised
the church to the rank of a diaconia^ and was a liberal benefactor to it/
St Hadrian would properly be represented in the msinner which appears in
this painting.^ Further, if the Pope be Hadrian, there was 4 peculiar
appropriateness in introducing the figures of SS. Sergius and Bacchus, for
when the ' Book of the Popes ' describes Hachriari's rebuilding of thdr
church in the Forum, it states that he had a special devotion to these
martyrs.^ Finally we may notice that it is in ai| inscription almost certsunly
«f Uie time of Hadrian, that wis find again in Rome the title of Rtgina
Applied to the Vii^in.^
. The intention of the picture has still to be explained. It will be hoticed
that Pope Hadrian does not hold the book upright in front of him, as in the
conventional representation of bishops, and as the two canonized Popes do
in this picture. He is putting it forward ; and therefore it is clear that he is
presenting the volume to the church, in the person of its patroness, for use
in its services, and the picture is a commemoration of the fact The ' Book
of the Popes,' in its long list of more costly presents made by Hadrian to
the Roman churches, has not thought it worth while to record any gifts of
books ; but several such are mentioned in this period, and the volume
shown in the picture may well have been a copy of the Gospels cuvi tabulis
dirgenteiSy like that given by Leo I V. to the church of the saint of his name.^
When the floor of the vestibule was uncovered in the summer of 1901
it was found that almost the whole area was occupied by graves constructed
on a regular plan, in rows, so as to utilise the whole of the available space.
The part nearest the entrance, however, had not been completely taken up
at the time when the building was abandoned. Though no objects of
* Lib, Pont, i. 509.
""^ The Byzantine Guide in Didron's version gives the description, *jeune, barbe airondie'
<p. 392). According to the 'Acts ' he was one rwr ^tov/ac rwr riis rdL^cwt {Acta SS, Sept. vol. iii. 220).
I am inclined to think that, like Sergius, he had a ring round his neck ; so that it may have been
intended to represent him as being a member of the Imperial Guard. But the disappearance of the
paint has left very uncertain traces.
' Lid, Pont, i. 512: misericordia motus^ ob eonim m arty mm amorem.
* The deed of gift by the dispettsator Eustathius at S. Maria in Cosmedin already referred to
^p, 44, n. 2). It begins thus : Haic tibi pratcia'-a viixo caeUstis regina*
* Lib. Pont,^ ii. 132. Cf. 1 28, and i. 432. The best known instance is the inscription in S.
Clemcnte recording the gift to the church of a Bible by the presbyter Gregorius in the time of
^charias. Grisar, AnaL Aoik. \, 123, 172, T. iv. 2.
S. Maria Antiqua.
los
importance were found with the skeletons which the graves contained,* we
may assume that they belonged to the saijie period as the main decorations
of the building, i.e. the eighth and possibly the succeeding century. Most
of the graves, each of which held several bodies, were constructed of ancient
materials and on the following plan (Fig. 7), The walls, which were of
course common to two parallel graves, were built of brick and fragments of
stone and marble. The floor, in the best preserved cases, was formed by
a single slab, regularly pierced with holes for drainage. In other cases
;. 7.— Section
the floor was paved with lai^e square tiles. Each grave, lying, as it did
in most cases, parallel to the axis of the building, opened at the end
nearest to the entrance [i.e. the N.E.) into a square chamber which we may
suppose was covered by a movable slab in the floor of the church, so that
bodies could be introduced through it without removing the pavement
above the grave itself.* In one case at least this chamber was approached
by two or three steps down from the level of the floor above, and in
' Generally speaking, all the graves in and about the church were foond to have been rifled in
later limes.
' The same method was followed in Rome till recent times. The square rlabs closing the
opening are a familiar feature in the floors of Roman churches.
io6 The British School at Rome.
«
another it opened into a grave at either end ; but the normal wrange^
ment was for each grave to have its separate entrance. The latter opened
into the grave by a door formed by a thre^old or sHl and jambs of marble
or travertine, grooved so as to receive a slab which coidd move up or
down as it was necessary to open or close the grave^ One other pecu-
liarity was to be noticed in a few cases, viz, graves divided into two stxnies
by a marble slab supported by projecting tiles built into tiie siife^mdl^
We have said that the graves lay, genemlty, parallel ta the axis of the-
building, but their constructors were obliged to take accmmt of the/fi^cmr
(p. 23) which occupied so laige a part of the area ; and the graves within it».
making use of the support of its walls where possible, followed its.
direction.* Those outside of it, on the other hand, w«e orientated accord-
ing to the lines of the building. It may be ackled diat one grave of this
type was found in the inner church, in the chapel of S. Quiricus. The
square opening into it was judt in front of the side-door into the Sam^uafy^
The graves which we have been describing were not the only ones to
be seen. In one case an ancient marble sarcophagus (plain) had been
used as a coffin, placed cross-wise with reference to the other graves, but
filling up a convenient vacant space between the ends of two of tiiem.
In the part of the area to the left of the entrance another type of tomb was
found, marking perhaps a later and more barbaric epoch. The sides, as
before, were of rough' brickwork, and they were paved with large square
tiles. But they were covered by a gabled roof of ancient roofing tiles, the
junctions at the apex and sides being protected by semi-circular coping
tiles, after the manner familiar to Roman building. Tombs of this construc-
tion (known as * a capanna') are common in the neighbourhood of Rome.
The Vestibule must have shared, though probably at a later date, the
fate of the inner church, and been buried under the ruins which came
down from the Palatine. A desperate attempt was made to keep the roof
up by means of a very substantial pier of masonry (now removed) erected
* There appear to be similar graves in the Basilica at Salona, which was destroyed in a. d.
639. Mr. T. Cr. Jackson {Dalmatian ii. 90) describes ' a sepulchral vault with an entrance below
the floor on the east side, accessible from a small square pit lined with stone. The actual entrance
of the vault was closed by a stone sliding hatch running in grooves, which could be raised by an iron
ring.' Outside the Basilica (p. 92) * there are several sepulchral chambers like that described
within the church, with a little shallow well or pit in front of the entrance, lined with slabs which
are joined with lead dowels/ In at least one case the sliding hatch is perfect with the iron ring for
raising it.
'■* The area of the piscina has now l>een completely cleared.
' Cf. e.g, Notizie d. Scavi^ 1886,454 ; Bull. Comm, 1887, $0.
S. Maria Antiqua, iot
in the middle of the building (85), partly of blocks brought from the sub-
structure of the Temple of Castor. Its foundation cut through the series
of graves in that part of the flpor.
As we leave the vestibule by the main entrance it can be seen that the
porticus to the left was, like all the precincts of the church, much used for
burials. The piers nearest to the entrance have been built up so as to form
a chapel-like compartment, on the walls of which are traces of decorative
painting. In the angle, two terra-cotta sarcophagi were found buried, and
in the main wall a loculus (86) has been excavated, the front of which has
preserved more of its painted inscription than the similar burial places
within the church. The letters are of a good type, black on a white
ground ; and the inscription was enclosed in a frame of boldly drawn
acanthus foliage, exactly like that round the picture of SS. Antony and
Mary of Egypt described above (p. loi), and is therefore probably contem-
porary with it. We saw that that picture did not belong to the original or
eighth-century decoration of the building, and is to be classed with work
which may be as late as the tenth or eleventh century. The remains of the
inscription are as follows : —
-hCR IV
CV\£N
TERRIS
IVS
Dl
This was, apparently, an epitaph of four lines in elegiacs ending
with the formula dep{psiUis) or decessit followed by the date. I have
not been able to identify these lines with any known Christian epitaph, but
it is clear that the idea expressed was that of the resurrection of the
deceased at the Last Day. A Spanish inscription of the seventh or eighth
century may be quoted in illustration :
ut cum flavtma vorax veniet comburere terras
cetibus sanctorum merito sociatus resurgam}
* Huebner, Inscr, Hisp, Chr, i58 = Buechcler, Carmiita Epigraphica, i. 724. For similar
expressions (not very common in early Christian epitaphs) cf. also in Buecheler nos. 715, 756 ^
io8 The British School at Rome.
Above this was another Icculus with a similar inscriptioti, but only die
lower edge of some of the letters of the last line (giving, no doabt» the
date) remains*
The side-wall to the left was painted with panels representing coloured
marbles, flanking a cruciform* compartment containing a des^ of arabesque
folii^e with grapes and fruit, executed in a sketchy style, in natural
colours on a white ground
The space enclosed between the front of the maiir buildii^, the chi4>el
of the Forty Mart}nrs, and tiie Lacus lutumae, formed part of the precincts
of the Church, and is occupied by a building of late construction (L).
■ « «
It may have been a subordinate church, like the chapel of the Forty
» ■ ... •
Martyrs, but the architectural remains are too scanty for any inferences
to be drawn from them here^ The only objects of interest found here
* ' . - ■ - •
were a third-century sarcophagus in the part nearest to the Shrine of
Jutuma (apparently in a passage-way), and, immediately in front of the
entrance to the Forty Martyrs, an isolated g^rave with its floor formed l^'
a pierced marble slab like those described in the vestibule (87). Its
covering was an inscribed and dated marble slab .which had been taken
from some older grave. It was broken in two either before it "wis so used* or
possibly by some later marauders, and half of it was reversed. The inscrip-
tion occupies the upper part of the slab which is furnished all round with
a well-designed moulding.
+ HIC REQVISCITINPACEAMANTIV^ rtwrl FEXQVIVI X ITtf
PLVSMINANN^L^DEPOSITVSSVB>EfXIK^/;;/ARTIASQVINQVIES
PC i5N/VSTINI PP AVG TNO QVARTA
Hie requi{e)scit in pace Amantiu\s aur]ifex qui vixit plus min{us)
ann{is) Z, deposiius sub d{ie) XI Kal(endas) Martias^ quinquies p{pst) eipn-
sulatum) d(pmint) n[pstri) [r\ustini p{er)p{etui) Aug{usti)^ ind{ietione) quarta.
The fifth year after the consulship of Justin II. (for Justin I. was not
recognised in Italy) is A.D. 572.^ Considering the social position of a
person who would have a carefully engraved tombstone of this character,
aurifex is the only possible restoration of the description of Amantius.
Remembering the existence of a number of ancient epitaphs of persons
connected with the goldsmiths* and jewellery business, and described as
' De Rossi, Imcr, Chr, i. pp. 609, 613.
S. Maria Antiqua. 109
de Sacra Via} one may be permitted to fancy that the trade may still
have continued in the same district in the sixth century, and that Aman-
tius was buried in the precincts of the church hard by. Though the grave
in which it was found may be later, it seems not improbable that a slab
of this character and date may have been taken from a sepulchre in the
ground in front of the church. The practice of interment within the
city had begun at least half a century before the death of Amantius.*^
If we can believe that the tombstone originally belonged to the church,
it is the earliest dated monument that we possess connected with it.
IV. — The Chapel of the Forty Martyrs.
The space between the ancient building converted into the church of
S. Maria Antiqua and the shrine of Juturna is occupied by a small structure
of Hadrianic brickwork which may originally have been a temple (M).^
It is placed at right angles to the church, and its breadth is greater than
its length. In the back wall is an apse. It was converted into a church
in the Byzantine age, and decorated with wall-paintings which, so far as.
the much damaged remains allow one to judge, do not differ substantially
in style from those in S. Maria, and may therefore be assigned to the
latter half of the eighth century. From the most prominent subject
among these paintings we have given it the name of the chapel of the
Forty Martyrs, but there does not appear to be any documentary trace of
an independent church with that dedication in this part of Rome. We
must assume, therefore, that it was regarded as forming an integral part
of S. Maria Antiqua.
Standing opposite to the entrance, one can see that the facade (which
it must be remembered was inside the building described above, p. 108)
was painted. The only remains are on the right. On the face of the pier
or buttress, immediately to the right of the entrance, are traces of the full-
* CI.L, vi. 9207, attrifex dc Sacra Via; 9212, de Sacra Via attri acceptor; 9214, de Sacra
Via attri vestrix,
' See €,g, Lanciani, Pagan and Christian Kome, 325.
• The question may be asked whether this is not the temple of Minen-a mentioned in the grants
of dtiienship to soldiers (dip/omata miiitaria) between a.d. 93 and the time of Diocletian. The-
originals are said to be fixed in muro post templttm divi Aug, ad Minervam, C.I,L. iii. pt. 2, p.
859 sqq.
no The British School at Robie.
length figure of a Ushop (88), vested in a yellow cfaasuUe wiA tiie pallium
over a dalmatic, and holdii^ in front of him an opened scroll cm wUch we
recognise the same quotation from the ^ Tome " of St Leo which we found
in the hands of the first figure to tbs left of thp apse in th^ church (p. 69).
The bishop before us then was St Leo, and he was no doubt b^bmced by
another Father on the corresponding buttress to the left. The fragments
iof the quotation which have survived here a^ as follows :
«
KCN^Toi; /dfir
AorovKAxep
yaZOMCNOV
Jhr^ PeCTHHTop
Uyov TOVAeCO
MArOCeKTfX.-
OVNrat
On each of the sides of the recess to the right of this were the busts of
four saints in medallions. Only the lowest on the right is at all recog-
nisable, and the name has in part remained, + O A7*o9 6VGVM*o9. He
is represented with a long beard, as in the church (p. 31), and the painting
is in exactly the same style. Nothing is left on the back wall of the recess.
On the face of the pier (89) to the right of the recess are faint traces of,
apparently, a replica of the * Descent into Hell ' in the side-door (J) of the
inner church (p. 37). The outlines of the figure of Christ are quite
clear.
Ascending the two marble steps at the threshold we enter the chapel
and pass round it from left to right. On the space immediately to the
left of the door are faint traces of a large picture with life-sized figures
which possibly represented a Virgin and Child with a saint introducing a
donor (90). On the extreme left is a bishop (no doubt a Pope) with the
pallium, holding a book. To the left of his head are traces of what may
have been a square nimbus, but doubtful. Next comes a figure draped in
white with bare feet, i.e. a saint of the early Christian age. Only the lower
corner of the right of the picture remains. It seems to represent the foot-
S. Maria Antiqua. hi
"Stool of a throne. Below is a dado of drapery of the same character as
that in the church.^
The left side-wall of the chapel is covered above the drapery dado with
a single subject which extends as far as a niche at the upper end. It is a
long row of nimbed saints, standing facing the spectator, with the heads of
a second row appearing behind them (91). Both from their number (there
were originally twenty-six in the front row, and fourteen at the back), and
from the pamting in the apse to be described presently, it is clear that they
are the Forty Martyrs. In the centre of the upper row is a bust of Christ
in a medallion. The martyrs are all represented in Byzantine official
costume, and hold a small cross in front of them with the right hand.
They are of different ages, some beardless, others with black or white
beards.* Above are traces of the frames of six oblong scenes, which may
have told the story. The niche already mentioned contained, apparently,
full-length figures of saints. A small loculus has been cut in the wall
below it.
Of the end-wall of the chapel, the space to the left of the apse only
retains the painting of its lower part, i,e, the dado, but this is fairly perfect
{92). It shows, on a white ground, two (originally there must have been
three) large Latin crosses of gold studded with jewels, enclosed in wreaths
or crowns. Ornaments are suspended from the arms and from chains
which unite the ends of the cross, and the centre is formed by a medallion
containing, in the cross to the left, a head of Christ. In the other case the
centre is damaged, but the indications point to a head of the Virgin. " On
either side of the base of the cross is a palm branch. The whole arrange-
ment no doubt represents the hanging crowns and crosses (generally con-
taining lights) which were a regular ornament of churches of the period.
Above the wreaths and between them is represented a small jewelled
crown (like the Iron Crown of Monza) suspended by three chains. In the
corresponding space below, two lambs stand facing one another, while the
angle on the right is filled up by a peacpck.
We next come to the apse which is occupied by a representation of the
Forty Martyrs undergoing their martyrdom of exposure in a lake near
Sebaste in Armenia (93). The right-hand portion is the best preserved.
The figures, like a crowd facing the spectator, stand, not on the ice, as in
* Federici (i.e. p. 46) gives somt graffiti here, but I confess that I can make nothing out of the
(races on the wall.
' This agrees with the Byzantine Manual. Didron, 326 j^.
112 The British School at Rome.
some forms of the legend.^ but immersed up to the ktieesf in the water of
the lake. They are nude, save for loin-cloths, and thdr hands are raised
in front of the breast with the palms outwards in the attitude of prayer.
The heads which remain are all beardless. In the right-hand comer of
the picture is represented the incident of tiie member of the band m^ose-
courage foiled him, and who is stepping out of the water into the tent (the
l^end says it was a warm bath) prepared cm the shore of the lake..
Beside it are traces of two guards. The legend gives names to all the
forty,* and these names were originally inscribed here above the figures to
which they belonged. The first to the right is complete, KTPiUIN, the-
Kyrion or Quirion of the lists. Above it is /KAlKOC, Is. Ecdicius. Next
to these, to the left, are the fragments,
iC€T////
<j)IA////
///reoc
which appear to correspond to the names Severianus, Theophilus (probably
in the form Philotheos), and Angias,' given in the * Acta.'
The dado of the apse is painted with a rude imitation of marble in-
crustation in five panels, alternately pink and yellow. The vault is treated
with a decorative design of rosettes in large circles, the intermediate spaces -
being filled up by arabesques. The effect is that of ornament of the
classical period. Where the red background behind the Martyrs has broken
away there are traces of an earlier stratum of painting, but nothing definite
can be made out as to its character.
To the right of the apse a platform, some four feet high and two feet
broad, extends as far as the angle of the chapel. There are no apparent
means of access to it. The wall behind it was painted from the level of
its floor upwards (94). First comes a very high dado of painted drapery.
It is represented as finished off* at its extremity on the left by a panel or
border with small figures of two saints. The lower of these shows a lay
personage in a tunic and long cloak open in front. The figure is broken
away above the middle. Of the upper figure only the right side of the
nimbus is left with traces of the name, unfortunately too fragmentary to
* E.g, in the Roman Breviar}', March loth.
' Acta SS. March, vol. ii. 12. Didron, Manuel^ 326.
> Apixirently the * Agg^e' who appears in Didron's version of the Byzantine Guide (p. 327).
S. Maria Antiqua. n3
give any result The only recognisable letters are an A followed by a T.
Above the dado was a row of full-length saints, possibly attending on a
central seated Madonna. All that can be made out from the very faint
traces is, on the extreme left a figure in white drapery, and next to it,
turning towards the centre, and perhaps offering something with covered
hands, the lower portion of a figure in classical costume with sandaled feet.
On the extreme right is an ecclesiastic in a chestnut-coloured chasuble,
facing the spectator, and next to him is a fragment of a white-robed figure
with bare feet
The wall of the chapel on the right was painted, above the usual
drapery dado, with a history in oblong framed scenes. There were at
least two tiers of these, but of the upper one only indications of the frames
remain. The lower tier is preserved to some extent, but the traces are
very faint, and as everything in the nature of inscriptions has disappeared,
an attempt to identify the subject becomes difficult in the absence of any
obvious indications in the representation. The first scene preserved, viz.
that on the extreme left (95), must belong to the middle of the story.
Two male figures are moving towards the right. The first has his right
hand raised, as if in surprise, and his companion, who apparently holds a
staff in his right hand, points to something with his left. From the
opposite direction two animals, perhaps lions, are coming towards them
down the slope of a mountain. This scene partly extends into the niche
in the wall, and the next occupies the remainder of it (96). Here we see
an angel moving quickly towards the right accompanied by another per-
sonage. There is a background of mountains. The next scene (97) has
a house in the left comer, in front of which three persons are standing
behind a table. The one in the middle extends his right hand. From the
right a figure is bringing some object to them, perhaps a wine-skin or bottle.
In the succeeding panel (98) two mules or horses, each laden with two
large bottles, are moving from the left In the centre are the remains
of a draped figfure. Beyond this point nothing recognisable remains,
but the scenes were continued along the wall, perhaps as far as the
entrance.^
Close under the wall to the right of the entrance was buried below the
^ In their uncertain condition it is hardly worth while to attempt to identify the scenes : other-
wise it might have been suggested that two of them might be incidents in the life of St. Antony,
viz., the destruction of his crops by wild animals, and the journey which he made to visit his
Monasteries.
Ii4 The British School at Rome.
pavement a marble sarcophagus containing several bodies ^9). It was
originally made (probably in the second century' A.D.) for a Jewish official
and his family, and has no doubt been brought here from some Jewish
cemetery outside the walls. On a panel in the centre of the front is
inscribed
e N o A A e K I
T A I c e I A I k I c
repoTciAPXHC
BIOCAY :eNA
piAKer iPOCYioi
AYTtjJN
'EvOdBe K{e)iTat %eiXiKiv yepova; '^itf *(<*') ~to4>potna trvi'^toi avToii
K(al) Mapia k{(u} aixapSpot viol aiii
A good deal of the pavement of the chapel is presened. It is very
barbarous, made up of irregular gments of marble, porphyry, and
serpentine, with rude attempts to ar ange them in panels bordered by
strips of white marble.
APPENDIX.
THE 'DESCENT INTO HELL' IN BYZANTINE ART.
The presentation of the subject known as the ' Descent into Hell ' in Byzantine art is
based on the account in the Apocryphal Gospel of Nicodemus, the earliest literary fonn
of the legend developed from the suggestion of I Peter, iii. 19. There Christ is described
as trampling upon Satan, and talcing Adam by the hand.' The regular Byzantine name
for the scene is 17 airdirraim, ' (he resurrection,' probably an allusion to Matthew xxvii. 52.*
By the time when the Byzantine Manual of Painting (p. 12) was composed, the treatment
' Tischendorf, Evangelia Apocrypha, 370.
' Messis. Schultz and Bam&ley {Monastery of SI. Lutt, 4S) are undei a misappiehension in
thinking that the name is a mistake as applied to the scene in Ihe eleventh-century mosaic in the
church of St. Luke of Stiris. They hare misunderstood Diehl, to whom they refer for
conGimation (CeuvenI dt SI. Luc, 42.)
S. Maria Antiqua.
IIS
had become very eUborate, and ihe old name had been given up.' But till the eleventh
or twelfth century ihc regular design shows a symmelrical composition (specially adapted
for a lunette) in which Christ stands in the centre, facing the spectator, between two
groups. In one hand he holds a cross, while with the other he raises Adam from Ihe
tomb. Behind Adam appears Eve. This group is balanced by two or more figures
(generally David and Solomon) rising from a tomb on ihe other side of the Saviour,
under whose feet the broken frajjinents of the sepulchres, or, more rarely, the prostrate
Fic. 8,— The Descent
figure of Satan, are represented. This type, of which the examples are numerous,
represented in Fig. 3, taken from a twelfth -century Greek MS. of the Gospel)
British Museum.* The figure behind the kings is St. John the Baptist.
This treatment seems to be a development, for reasons of symmetry, from a simph
aod earlier form in which only Christ and Adam and E\c appear. In represenlal:
this type the Saviour stands sideways as he approaches and takes Adam by the band,
the
of
' Didron, ed. Stokes, ii. 319.
'£.f. Schulu and Barasley, /.i'. Fig. 39 ; d'Agiiicourt, T. xiii. 11 (doors of S. Paolo fuori,
Rome), Ivii. 6, \ix. 6(MSS. in Vatican) ; Gori, Ties. Vit. Dift. iii. T. xxnii. 1 M/langts d'Arih,
It d^Hitt. I88S, 316 (deventh-cenlury MS. Bt Messina), Cf. Diehi, Couvml dt St. Luc, 41, for
ether iDtianccs.
* HarL iSto. f. zo6 b.
I 3
ti6
The British School at Rome.
Though he sometimes appears with the Cross, it is clear that the roll which other
examples show in his hand is the older motive. The prostrate figure of Hades under his
feet seems to be a regular adjunct of the design.
It is this simpler and earlier type wliich appears in the picture of S. Maria Aniiqua
described above {p 37). Fig. 9 gives an idea of its outlines. U our dates with regard
to the church are correct it cannot be later than the ninth century, but there is no reason
to separate it from the other paintings of the eighth century In that part of the building.
Indeed, so far as its ruined slate allows of any definite opinion, its style would suggest
that it belongs rather to the earlier than to the later series of decorations. Probably then
it is one of the earliest versions of the subject which we possess. For analogies with its
Pig. 9.— 'Thb Descent into Hell.' S. Makia Antiqda.
special characteristics we may compare the following examples, (i) Now that Prof.
Venturi has restored the sculptured columns of the ciborium in St Mailed at Venice to
their proper place as works of early Christian art, not later than the sixth century, we
find on one of them the oldest version of the scene which has come down to us.' The
elements are even simpler, for the only figures are those of Christ and Adam, whom he
takes by the hand. Under the feet of Christ appear two heads, periiaps the Satan and
Hades of the Gospel of Nicodemus. The left hand of Christ appears to be unoccupied 1
perhaps it originally held a roll. The (later) inscription describes the scene as txpoHatio
i{nYeri. In the next scene the bodily resurrection of the saints appears with the in-
' Veniuri, SlcriadtU' Arte Ilaliana, i. 444 lyy. Fig. 266 (p. 279). Ct Lowrie, Christum Art,
kc, 269 note. The sculptures »re also reproduced in Gairucci, vi T. 498.
S. Maria Antiqua.
117
sciiption surgu{H)l corfi{or)a J<an)<r{/M'"''), explaining, as noticed above (p. n4) the
Greek name of the Annstasis.
(i) Owing to the connexion of time and place, it is peculiarly interesting to observe
how the scene was represented in the tnosaics of John VII, 's famous chapel of
(he Virgin in St. Peter's. We have to rely for our knowledge of Ihem on the drawings
made before the destruction of the chapel in the sevenieenih century. In spite of their
Fig. 10. — The Descent
(Add. MS. 1935*.)
;iencies it is clear {e,g, from the one preserved in the Archives of the Vatican Chapter ')
that the representation followed the simple and early i>-pe. Christ, without the cross
(here again the hand may well have held a roll), and with the prostrate figure of the
dexHl under his feet, apparently removes a chain from Adam's hand. But this may be a
misunderstanding on the part of the draughtsman.
(3) That mine of Byiantine iconography, the eleventh-century Psalter in the British
Museum,' lo which we have often had occasion to refer, contains three representations of
' Garrncd, iv. T. 180, 8,
' Add. 19353. The MS. ii described in Dr, Kenyon's Facsimiles of Biilical ManHttripts i
At British Mnseum, No. vii. Cf. Waagcn, Treasures of Art in Great Britain, iv. 7 sgf.
The British School at Rome.
the subject. One (f. 146 *) is of a more elaboraie and independent character. But in the
other two cases (f. 82*, S3 a. Pa. lxvii. = Uviii. in the English version) we find just tte
elements of the scene which appear in the painting of S. Maria Antiqua. The firrt of
these is produced in Fig. 10. Christ, holding a roll, takes Adam by the hand, tve
stands behind him, and below is the giganlic prostrate figure of Hades. In one case
Christ stands on the latter, and in the other Adam and Eve. The chief difference is that
Christ is surrounded by the vesica, and is represented as stationary, and not tnomg
forwards as in the Roman picture. The figure of Hades (,no name is given 10 HJ is also
very much larger, and its position is not the same. On the other hand the crou^w^
figure under the foot of Christ in S. Maria Antiqua curiously resembles \n attitude .nau-
seated, half-redining. mth one leg bent under) the Hades from which the soul of Lajaius
is ascending, io another tniniiUure of tb" "<n^ MS. (Fig. 1 1 '}. There tw the name i>
given, & a&,t. He appears to be holding ■ uls in his arms, whereas m the pictan
—Hades. (.\dd. MS. 1935*.)
of S. Maria he is hfting the grave~stone ; but it seems that both figures mtist have come
from a common tj-pc.
(4) We h«\T already had occasion to notice the importation of Byzantine subjects into
England through Rome (p. I7\ and it is iniercsting to find that this eariy type of the
* Descent into Hell ' also reached our country. Ii is seen 00 a sculptured slab, discovered
many years ago in the Chapter House of Bristol Cathedral, fcmning the cover of a
mediaeval coffin. Probably it had, originally, no connexion with the church. Indeed it
must be older than the foundation of ibe monastery (1141), for its styk recaUs that of
Anjlo-Saimn sculptures of the ele«nth century-.* The scene a^iears to be cMnpletfe ;
and it clearly belongs to the earlier i>-pe described abo\-e, and in its general features is
closely allied to the picture in S. Maria Antiqua. It is rcprodaccd in Fig. 12. Christ,
' S^. itrt wcll-kiMi
1.TIK a)>|<c«r« in the Rulvniu FmIim (t +»». Of, JHH^nga, De Rossi, 178.
a trttfiL fi>Mu Sebry ia Otidicslet Catbcdnl, of which there are oits at
S. Makia Antiqua
advanring from ihe left with one foot on the head c
hand the nude figure of Adam. Only one later feal
ihe roll in the hand of Christ. Details of this sort i
' ihe recumbent Hades, raises by the
ire is introduced, the Cross Instead of
lay easily be interchanged, and in the
iG. la.— Thb Dbscent into Hell.
(Sculpluic in Bristol Cathedral.)
same w-ay in a fragment of a representation of the scene among the mosaics of the chapel
of S. Zeno at S. Prassede, though the general type is the later symmetrical one, Christ
holds the roll and not the Cross.'
' GsiTucd, iv. T. 389, 1
n that the ftsgrnent belongs to the tiine of Paschal I.
1
r
INDEX.
SS. Abbacyrus and John, 14, 78, 79, 80, 98
S. Abandius, 32, 35
S. Adriano, Church of, 4, 104
S. Agnes, 94
S. Alexander, 32, 34, 36
Altars, 13, 36, 39, 76, 82, 88, 95, 99
Amantius, epitaph of, 108
AmbOf 89
S. Anastasia, 94
Church of, 7, 1 1, 95
SL Andrew, 57
S. Angelo in Pescheria, Church of, 43, 80, 83
Angels, 48, 49, 55, 59, 67, 83, 85
Anna the Prophetess, 55
St Anne, 58, 81 n. 2, 82
Annunciation, 83
Antoninus and Faustina, Temple of, 4, 81 n. I
S. Antonio Abbate, Church of, 21
S. Antonius, 95, loi, 113 n.
Church of, 10
Apostles, 57
S. Annentise, 53
S. Athanasius, 33
St. Augustine, 14, 62, 73
Augustus, Temple of, 10, 18, 100
Auxerre, 44, 45 n. I
S. Bacchus, see S. Sergius.
S. Barachisius, 77
St Bartholomew, 57
Baruch, 59
St Basil, 33, 62, 71, 100
Basilica Aemilia, 74
Junii Bassi, 21
Benedict, St., loi
III., Pope, 8
Biscop, 17
Benediction, sign of, 47 ; cfl 49, 63
Greek form of, 32, 33, &c.
Bibles, illuminated Greek, 15, 26, 64
S. Blasius, 100
Bristol Cathedral, sculpture in, 1 18
Burial, see Graves, Sarcophagi, Loculi
B3rzantine Art in Rome, 1 1, 16; in England,
17, 118
Churches, 12, 23
Manual of Painting, 12, 15, 84 n.
Official Costume, 28, 35
S. Caecilia, 94
Caligula, 22
Calvary, Procession to, 56, 74
Candles, votive, 51, 52, 95
CanthartiSy 89
Castor, Temple of, 18, 22, 107
CcUomulevcUio^ 47
S. Celsus, 78, 80
Christ, representations of, 33, 73, 85, 98, lOI,
III; see Crucifixion
Scenes from the life of, 55, 74
St. Christopher, icx>
Ciborium, 76
St Clement, 15, 33, 34, 35
Church of, 24, 52 n. 5, 75, 82, 90, 97,
104 n. 5
Constans II., 65, 72
SS. Cosroas and Damianus, 79, 80
Church of, 4, 32 n. 2, 39
S. Crescentia, loi
Cross, 77, III ; see Crucifixion
on pallium, 35
held by Saints, 36
Crucifixion, 40, 58, 66
S. Cuiricus, see Quiricus
Curia, 4, 104
St. Cyril, 33
David, 63
Daniel, 85 n., 87
S. Demetrius, 84
^^^H 123 TiieBritish
ScnOOLAT TROME.
r
^^^^H Descent into Hetl, 37, 1 1 14
Justin II., Empcrot, 108
^^^^H Diacoitiiu, 4 n. 4, 44
Juluma, fountain of, iS, loS
^^^^H DioioniiBii, 24, 80
^^^^1 S. Domeliua, 73, 80
Lateran Council (649), 7. 18, ~,i
^^^^^1 Eaethquake 3t Rome (E47), 9
Leol.. 31, 69, 110.
^^^H Einsieddn lunemry. 10
III., 8, 76, 82
^^^m Eleaur, 85, S6
IV., S, 9, 104
^^^H Sl Elizabeth, %2
Sfvsrdas ei mmarhiii, 97
Lights, 87. 98
^^^^H England, Bytantine Art in, 17, llS
Loculi, 13. 91. 99, 101, 107. Ill
^^H S. Epiphamui, 33, 35, 36
S. Lorcnjo in Miranda, Church of, 4
^^^H S. Erasmus, 33, 34. 97
Maccabebs, 8s
^^^^H S. Euthymias, 31, 35, 110
Magi, 55. 83
S. Mamas, jg
^^^^H Flower held in hand, 51, ji
Manual of Painting, Byiiintine, 11. 15
.84n.
^^^^H Forty Martyrs, the, 38, III
S. Maria in Cosmedln, Church of, 1 1
, 44. 66,
^^^^H S. Francesca Komana, Church of, 9, 10
104 n. 4
Liberatrice, 10
^^^^H Gsusiiis, decree of Pope, 44 n. 4
MagRiore, 5, 6
^^^H S5. Giovanni e Paolo, Church oT, 4:, 82
Nova. 9
^^^^H 63
Kalunda, 4, 6
^^^^^^ Gospel, scenes rroin the, 55, 74, 85
in Trasteverc, 5. S
^^^^^1 lO)
St. Mary, see Virgin
^^^^B Gregory NazianzcD, 33, 61, 70
of E^ypt, loi
^^^^V Ibe Great, 14, 30
Martini, (4. 18,62,65.73
^^^^ III., 6 n. 3. 13 n., 30 n. t, 31
Menologies, 54, 93 n. I
HaOBS, 37, 116 sqq.
Hadrian, St., 103
Emperor, 18, 23
I., Pope, 8, 44, 103
Hezekiah, 63
Iconoclastic Emperon, 18
Itaiah, 63
Jacob, story of, 26
Jarrow, pictures in church at, 17
Jeremiah, 59
St. John the Baptist, 84
the Evai^iist, 40, 57
Calyhita, 88 n. 3
Chrysostom, 33, 68, 71
See Abbacyrus
John VII., 4, 6, 16, 65, 83, 85, I
Jonah, 93
Joseph, stoiy of, 17
St., 55
Judith, 87
S. lulianus, 54 n. 2, 78
S. lalitta, 41, 53 ; tt* Qniricus
Miraiilia, 11
Monothelele heresy, 7, t8, 73
Monza, diptych at, 51
Nbvbrs, 45 n. I
Niches with pictures, 13, 82, 87, 94, 95, 98
Nicolas, St., 33
I., Pope, 8
Nimbus, square, 42, 43, 5i, S', 61. 73t 95> '°3
Normans, Capture of Rome by Ihe (1084), 9
Old Testaubnt, scenes from the, 25 tjq.
Palatine, Imperial Palace 00 the, 7, 9, 11, 12
Palern
(, 59 D.
Pallium, ecclesiastical, 35
S. Panteleeraon (Pantaleon), 78, 80, gSn. i
Pantheon, 4, zi
Paschal I. , 54
S. Passera, Church of, 79
St. Paul, 42, S7
Basilica of, 13 n., 30 n. I, 59, 6t
Paul. I., 8, 73
the Silentiary cited, 89
S. Maria Antiqua.
123
St. Peter, 15 n. 2, 42
Basilica of, Chapel and Mosaics of
John VII. there, 6, 41, 65, 83, 91. "7
Shrines of S. Maria Antiqua and
Nova there, 5 n. 2
of Alexandria, 33
Pippin, King, 45
Piscina, 23, 106
Plato, father of John VII., 7
S. Prassede, Church of, 53 n., 54, 75» "9
S. Procopius, 80
SS. QuiRico E GiULiTTA, Church of, 44 n- 5
S. Quiricus, 42, 53
SS. Quiricus and lulitta, legend of, 44, 50
Story of, represented, 45 sqq.
Ravenna, Mosaic of Justinian at, 28 n. 2, 30
n. 3
Relics of SS. Quiricus and lulitta at, 44
S. Saba, Church of, 32 n. i
S. Sabbas, 31, 35
Salona, graves in Basilica at, 106 n. I
Sarcophagi, 14, 91 J^^> ^^* ^°7> ^H
Schola Gentilium, 30
Septuagint, passages from the, 59
Sepulchral monuments in churches, 13, 93
Seraphim, 58
SS. Sergius and Bacchus, 30, 102
S. Silvester, 32, 102.
Legend of, 10
in leuu. Church of, 1 1
Simon the Cyrenian, 56
Solomone, 85
S. Sophia, Constantinople, Church of, 57i 59»
89
Stephen, St., 15, 80
II., Pope, 80
III., Pope, 80, loi
Strzygowski quoted, 30
Templum Sacrae Urbis, 4, 21
Tetramorph, 73
Theodore, Pope, 32, 41
Archbishop of Canterbury, 17
Epitaph of, 99
Theodotus, S., 45
primicerim aefensorum, 8, 43, 51, 53
Three Children, the, 85
Tome of St. Leo, 69, 1 10
Type of Constans II., 72
S. Valentinus, 32, 35
Catacomb of, 41
Vatican, see St. Peter
Venus and Rome, Temple of, 9
Vestments, ecclesiastical, 34
ia Sacra, 8, 109
Virgin, representations of the, 36, 4O1 42, 50»
52, 55, 58, 67, 81, 82. 83. 84, 87, 102
SS. Vitus and Modestus, 47 n. 2, loi
A
Wearmouth, pictures in church at, 17
Xystus III., 5, 6
Zach arias. Prophet, 61
Pope, 8, 42, 44
r\
PAPERS OF THE BRITISH SCHOOL AT ROME
Vol, I. No. 2.
THE CLASSICAL TOPOGRAPHY
OF THE
ROMAN CAMPAGNA
Part I
BY
T. ASHBY, Junior, M.A.
Student of the British School at Rome; formerly Craven Fellow in the University
of Oxford,
LONDON: 1902.
INTRODUCTION.
It is a tendency of all great cities to possess two distinct and often
independent sets of communications, the one for local, the other for long-
distance traffic ; and, unless a city has suddenly sprung into being, it will
be found that, in order of development, the former precedes and is the
germ of the latter. In the case of Rome, we are able to trace with remark-
able clearness the successive stages of the development of the road system.
The roads which, when this system had attained its perfection, we find
radiating in all directions from the city, may be divided into two groups.
The first of these, the local roads, take their name from the cities to which
they lead ; the second, the long-distance roads, from those who were
chiefly responsible for their construction. All, however, must have
originated as short-distance roads, leading to some town or other, and if
we possessed suflicient information as to the spread of the Roman supre-
macy in Italy, we should be able to trace^step by step the development
of the long-distance roads from the local ones in every case. For the
growth of the road system is intimately connected with the growth of
the power of Rome. As soon as we are able to fix approximately the
earliest bounds of her territory, we find her enclosed within very narrow
limits. Except along the banks of the Tiber, her dominion ex.tended
hardly five miles from the city gates.
The earliest extensions of the Roman territory must have coincided
with the first beginnings of the Roman road system. The two roads along
the Tiber, the Via Ostiensis and the Via Campana, had existed from the
first ; but after the Latin communities on the lower Anio had fallen under
the dominion of Rome we may well suppose that there were added the
first section of the Via Salaria, which led to Antemnae and Fidenae, the
The British School at Rome.
Via Ficulensis (afterwards the Via Notnentana) which led to Ficulca,^ and
the Via Collatina, which led to CoIIatia.
Gabii, too, which held the plain between the Anio and the Alban
hills, became Roman in fairly early times, though the period cannot be
closely fixed, and after its subjugation the Via Gabina (afterwards the Via
Praenestina) must have come into existence.*
The origin of the rest of the roads on the east of the Tiber is probably
tx) be connected with the gradual establishment of the Latin League in
the form in which it appears a.s completed in about 370 B.C. (Mommsen, 1.
448 n.). Taking first those which bear the name of a town, we find that
all these towns, Nomentum, Tibur, Praeneste, Labici, Ardea, Laurentum,
are found in the list of members of tl igue given by Dionysius (V, 61),
and had therefore already fallen una the supremacy of Rome. It is
worthy of note that Ficulea and CoIIatia do not appear among the thirty
federal cities. Their importance in :1ation to Rome had evidently
decreased in the interval, and though : memory of them was not abso-
lutely lost even in Imperial times," they were places of so little account
that topographers have found great difficulty in determining their sites.
Of the roads which do not bear the name of a town, the Via Salaria
(Livy, vii. 9. 6 ; FHny, H.N. xxxi. 89) was said to have been the route by
which the Sabines came to fetch salt from the marshes of Ostia and the
saltworks of the Veientines near Fregenae (Maccarese). A road must
have run, following no doubt the line of the later Via Appia, to Bovillae,
Aricia,* Lanuvium, and Velitrae, and thence on to Cora, Norba, and Setia.
It would follow, at any rate from Cora onwards, the already existing
Volscian roads which can stil! be traced along the hills. Another ancient
road, which may date from this period, is that which runs through Castel
di Leva straight to Satricum (Conca), while the Via Latina, which perhaps
derives its name from this period, must have run as far as Tusculum and
the pass of Algidus, and possibly onwards in the direction of Signia.
Of the roads on the right bank, the first sections of those which later
became the Via Flaminia and the Via Clodia were probably broi^ht into use
' Livjr, iii. tfl. 3 ! C.I.L. »iv. p. 447.
' Livy, ii. 11. 7, iii. 6. 7, v. 49. 6.
' C.I.L. xiv. pp. 435, 447, and No. 4003.
* Aa far as Bovillae the road must have already existed : for it seems clear that this to»a wu
in some respects the successor of Alba Longa. AAerthe destruction of Ibe Utter, the Jafrajm/i/uiii
of the luUi were celebrated at Bovillae; and the inhabitants called themselTcs Albtuii Lot^ani
Bovillenses {C.LL. liv, p. 131),
Classical Topography of the Roman Campagna. — I. 129
after the fall of Veii in 396 B.C. to secure the conquered territory, while the
road by which the Vestals fled to Caere in389 B.C. (Livy, v. 40), took a line
followed in later times by either the Via Cornelia or the Via Aurelia,
probably the former, as the latter seems originally to have led to Fregenae
(Maccarese).
As the supremacy of Rome extended itself over Italy, the Roman road
system grew step by step, each fresh conquest being marked by the
pushing forward of roads through the heart of the newly won territory, and
the establishment of fortresses in connexion with them. It was in Italy
that the military value of a network of roads was first appreciated by the
Romans, and the lesson stood them in good stead in the provinces. And
it was for military reasons that from mere cart tracks they were developed
into permanent highways. The first road which underwent this trans-
formation was the Via Appia, munita (the word indicates the solidity with
which this great work of engineering was carried out) from Rome to
Capua by Appius Claudius, censor in 312 B.C., and pushed forward after
each fresh acquisition of territory. But the history of the Roman road
system as a whole, and of its gradual extension over Italy, lies outside the
limits of our present subject.
A few exceptions to the twofold division which was made at the outset (
— local roads, taking their name from the places which they serve, and
long-distance roads, taking their name from those who constructed them —
may be noticed here. The Via Salaria and the Via Latina always retained
their ancient appellations unchanged ; while the importance of Tibur was
probably the reason why the first part of the Via Valeria as far as that
city always retained the name Tiburtina. Other exceptions are the Via
Cornelia, which led to Caere (Cervetri), and the Via Vitellia, both of which,
though they are roads of little importance, bear the names of men,
probably their constructors. The Triumphalis is a short road which
leaves Rome independently of the Clodia, but soon falls into it without
leading to any town. The antiquity of the road now known as Via
Tuscolana is by no means certain, and in any case the name is not ancient.
The Via Portuensis dates from the construction of the Portus Ostiensis
by Claudius in the first century A.D.
The roads which never acquired more than a purely local importance,
as distinct from those which were developed into lines of communication of
the first rank, were also munitae in course of time ; and, traversing as they
K
130 Thb British School at Rome.
did a fertile and well-cultivated district, carried no deuH duriiqr the period
befofe the Punic warsi a considerable ampimt of tnJb:* Graddall^) however,
the population decreased ; the small fiumers died ou^ and were nqitaoed
by a few lafge owners whose estates were cultivated by gai^ of slaves.
These formed a continual menace to the -public safety, and once 0n
198 B.C) even threatened to surprise Setia and Fraenesle Under the
govomment of the later Republic the state of^tdagB grew worse* Some of
the small country towns, LaMd, GaUi, and Bovfllae, fer examfde^ were so
deca3fed that th^ could haidly send representatives to tiie Latin festival
(Cic. Pr» PUntdp, 9, 23) ; and as the population decreased, the malaria
became more formidable. Ardea was even in ancient times eoosidefed
an unhealthy place,^ and many of tiie towns which had been members
of the Latin League disappeared altc^[ether.
In certain districts of the Campagna, tiie decay of the farmer population
was, in a way, compensated for by the growtb of tiie vilbjggiaiiirm system.
It became increasingly the feshion to seek refuge in tiie country fircmi the
turmoil of the capital, especially during tibie heat and mihealthiness of
summer ; and, in the Alban hills and at Tibur especially, tiie vUb mrdana
began to supersede the villa rmsiica or homestead^ (Mommsen, ▼• 377).
But the. possession of such country residences was the pri^lege of the rich ;
and that the system did little to improve the general prosperity is shown
by the insecurity of the Campagna at this period, and by the decay of a
town like Bovillae on the Via Appia, in a district which was as fashionable
a resort as any. Even at Tusculum the burgesses were few compared with
those of Atina, and were, most of them, men of rank.*
Under the Empire the establishment of public security, the more
equable distribution of wealth, and the general revival of prosperity,
wrought a considerable change in the condition of the Campagna. Not
only were villas constructed just outside the gates of Rome, or, as before,
in the Sabine or Alban hills, but the plain which lies between was by
degrees covered with the residences of wealthy Romans, the remains of
which, with the fragments of the foreign marbles with which they were
decorated, bear faint testimony to their former magnificence. In time
almost every available site was occupied. The water supply was the
^ Strabo v. 3. 5> P* 231, x^P^^ '''^ kut^l t^^ irapaKlav iff a lAcvSi} koX vofftpd, ota rh rmv *Ap99a-
rvy Kol rh fitra^b 'AvtIov koI Aayoviov tiixp^ neofitrrivov k.t.A. Virg. Aen. vii. 4 1 2, et nunc
magnum tenet Ardea nomen ; sed fortuna fuit.
' Cic. Pro PianciOj 8. 21.
Classical Topography of the Roman Campagna — I. 131
object of the greatest care ; complicated systems of drainage were con-
structed, and roads made in every direction, the solidity of the construction
of the by-roads being equal to that of the great highways. The whole plain
of the Campagna must have come to be one vast garden ^ (see Lanciani,
Ancient RomCy ch. x. ; Ruins and Excavations of Ancient RofnCy p. 7).
The country towns, too, enter upon a new epoch of prosperity (cf. p. 189).
The establishment of the Empire, too, brought with it important
changes in the administration of the road system of Italy. While under
the Republic, the general control of the roads belonged to the Censors,
who constructed some of the most important, we find that all the mile-
stones of the Republican period (three, or perhaps four in number : see
p. 199) which have been discovered in the neighbourhood of Rome, were
erected by aediles, either curule or plebeian. All other milestones of this
period known in Italy are those erected by the original builder of the
road, a consul or praetor,^ who had nothing to do with its subsequent
administration. The repairs (by contract) of the Via Caecilia were, on the
other hand, approved by a quaestor.* There seems, therefore, to have
been a lack of systematic management. Under the Empire, each of the
roads had a curator^ appointed by the Emperor, and the cura of a great
road was one of the most important official positions open to a senator.
Curatores of equestrian rank are the exception, and only exist in the case
of comparatively unimportant roads.*
The three roads which we have selected for examination provide us
with specimens of each of the classes into which we have divided the
roads which issue from the gates of Rome. The Via Collatina is a very
early local road of small importance, which was in later times probably
chiefly used in connexion with the Aqua Appia and the Aqua Virgo.
The Via Praenestina (or Gabina, as it was at first called) was in origin a
local road to Gabii, and like the Via Collatina must date back to a very
remote antiquity. With the extension of the dominion of Rome it was
pushed forward to Praeneste, though it never became a road of the first
importance. The Via Labicana fared differently. Originally constructed,
^ The hilly districts on the right bank of the Tiber were, to judge from the comparative
scarcity of remains of buildings, in ancient times, as now, mainly forest lands.
* No praetorian milestones are as a fact known.
* Hiilsen, Notizie degli Scaviy 1 896, 87 sqq,
* The inscriptions relating to these curatores viarum have been brought together by Cantarelli
in Bull. Comm, Arch, 1 891, 81 sqq.
K 2
XQi The British School at Romk.
«s I, have conjectured (p. 241), as a route to Tusculum (whether the fiis
road from, Rome to Tusculum was the Via Latina or this road is un-
Oertatn), it was tbca- prolonged to Labici, and thence again, later on,
Vfhea Labici had almost ceased to exist, to join the Via Latina. Being
more direct,, it superseded in importance what was probably an older
road as a tiirou^ route, to Casilinum, where it fell into the Via Appia
(p. 216). Besides ranking among the main arteries of communication
between the different parts of Italy, it also carried a considerable amount
of. local traffic Running as it does some way below Tusculum, and
traversing the lower slopes of the Alban hills, it passes through the heart
of this residential district, and must have been, for this reason alone, a road
of some considerable importance. This we should judge from the large
number of tombs which have been discovered along the earlier part of its
course^ It must be allowed, however, that other roads which have been
in continual use from ancient times up till now (while the Viae Labicana
and Praenestina have heea roads of little importance in mediaeval and
ctiodem times) have hardly had an opportunity of retaining many of their
tombs uninjured. They were regarded in the Middle Ages as the fair
prey of the road-mender, and it is curious to notice that every Papal ^
Jubilee marks the destruction of a considerable number of tombs along the
line of the principal high roads leading to Rome, which were repaired on
these occasions for the benefit of the pilgrims who travelled by them.
However, the repair of the roads was not taken systematically in hand
People preferred to make a new track by the side of the old road rather
than put the old one in order ; and hence it is that we find that the modern
road in many cases does not exactly correspond with the ancient Often
too the abandonment of an ancient road has been due to the establishment
in mediaeval times of fortresses commanding it. The best known case is
the castle of the Caetani at the tomb of Caecilia Metella, which led to the
disuse of the Via Appia. The Via Labicana, perhaps for the same reason,
fell entirely into disuse in the course of the Middle Ages from Torre
Nuova to the point where it crosses the Sacco, a distance of twenty-five miles.
This fact has naturally contributed to its preservation, although in recent
times those portions of it which traverse cultivated districts have been a
good deal subject to destruction (see for example p. 249).
The Via Praenestina, on the other hand, is one of the most important
of the purely local roads which traversed the plain. It passed, as the
Classical Topography of the Roman Campagna. — I. 133
remains show, through a thickly populated country, and Praeneste, to
which it led, was one of the very few cities of the old confederacy which
still survived and flourished under the later Republic. It continued, in
fact, like Tibur, to be a federal city with the old Latin rights until the
passing of the Julian Law in 90 B.C., when it received the full franchise.
Its great strength made it a refuge of the younger Marius in 82 B.C., when
it stood a severe siege from Sulla, and only surrendered when the battle at
the Porta Collina was lost. The city was destroyed, its territory con-
fiscated and divided among the soldiers of Sulla,^ and the new colony
occupied the lower ground at the foot of the hillside on which the ancient
city had stood. The site of the latter (to which, as in so many cases, the
mediaeval town returned) was covered by the enormous terraces of the
Temple of Fortune, rising steeply one above the other, the architecture of
large parts of which is characteristic of this period. The temple, thus
restored with greatly increased magnificence, must, notwithstanding the
devastation of the city, have continued to attract worshippers. And the
fertility and beauty of the district soon brought it into favour as a summer
residence. Horace read Homer here {Carm, HI. 4. 21 ; Epist, I. 2. 2).
Here Augustus had a villa (Suet. Aug, 72), and Tiberius was cured of an
illness (Aul. Gell. xvi. 13. 5). The younger Pliny had a country house at
Praeneste {Epist. v. 6. 45) ; and to the south of the town there still exist
the remains of a large villa, which belongs to the time of Hadrian, and is
generally attributed to him. The Braschi Antinous was found in it.
Praeneste, however, never became so fashionable a residence as Tibur
or Tusculum, both of which were somewhat nearer Rome, and the remains
of villas are neither so plentiful nor so magnificent. It is probable that
many of them belonged to rich townspeople or local proprietors. Further
towards Rome, too, between Ponte di Nona and Cavamonte, the number
of villae rusticae is considerable, while the tombs which line the road have
a character of their own. They are mostly small chambers about three
metres square, constructed of opus quadratum of peperino or tufa. Their
height and internal arrangements cannot be determined, as there are no
specimens preserved to any height above the ground. These are prob-
^ The arrangement did not, it is true, remain long in force : for in 63 B.C. the ager Praenestinus
was once more in the hands of large proprietors. Cic. De Leg, Agr, ii. 28, 78 : Nam si dicent per
legem id non licere^ ne per Comeliam quidem licet : at videmusj ut longinqua mittamus, agrum
Praenestinum a paucis possideri. Perhaps this was partly owing to the extravagance of the new
cehni, Cf. In Catilin.y ii. 9, 20.
aUy ^ tombs, not of wealthy Romanft, but of local p tn p rietms. Tbcy
are generally aiTRnged in gronpa *»ch of whkh po we— cd its trwn mtrmmm
(p. 174)-
The Via Praenestina had not, in fac^ tombs t^ great magnificence
' except in tix immediate neig^ibouifaood of Rome The most popolar
burying places were the great main roads, tlK Appfa,Flamiiiia, Latina^ and
the Praenestina was nevw one of tineae. Only one <^ its ciuaton is
known, and he, 4liouf^ of senatorial rank, was not a man. of great distinc-
tion.^ It never had the opportunity of becoming a main artery of traffic
Its prolot^tion beyond Praeneste took it into the valley of the Trerus
(Sacco), where it soon fell into the Via Ijibifana, whidi itself joined the
Latina at Pictae.
Nor had the Via Praenestina a monc^ly of tiie traffic to Praeneste
itsel£ Following the Via Labicana as far as & Cesaceo and taking the
tUverfiatlum iriiich leads thence to Praeneste^ t^ journey is cmly a mile
. longer, and though the road attains a h^er levd, it is not so coatinually
" up and down " as the Praenestina. This is in ftct die modem road to
Palestrina, tlie Via Praenestina being no longer in use between GaUi and
Cavamonte, except as a track, while between Cavamonte and Palestrina
it serves for local traffic only.
This abandonment of part of the ancient Via Praenestina, which has to
a great extent destroyed its raison d^Hre, accounts for the preservation
of so many remains of antiquity along its course. From Tor de' Schiavi
to the Osteria dell' Osa it runs through an almost deserted country, in
which cultivation has only recently begun to take the place of pastun^,
and carries little or no traffic. Between the Osa and Cavamonte it is a
mere mule path, seldom traversed by carts, with the result that the
ancient pavement is in a wonderful state of preservation for almost the
whole distance, and is quite the best example to be seen in the neighbour-
hood of Rome, though perhaps in Chaupy's time, some 130 years ago, the
Via Labicana between Fontana Chiusa and S. Ilario offered an even finer
specimen of a Roman highroad (p. 273). It is only at Cavamonte that it
comes into use again, and acquires a certain importance ; and even here,
by a stroke of good fortune, the modem road avoids passing over the Ponte
■ C.I.L. xiv. 169 : P. Martin Qutr {inia triiu) Philifpo curalori viae Pnutuslinat, aiJilidt
curuli, v{irv) g(ua4iterie) ah aerario, Iribuno fabrum navaiium Poriin^ium), tarput fabrum
Hovalium OstictKiium) fuiius tx s.c. coire licet, falrona Optimo, i(bo) f{.teuma\ f\psu\l). The
inscription is dated nth April, 19J a.d.
Classical Topogkaphv ov the Roman Campagna. — I. 135
Amato, which accordingly remains untouched by restoration, and is one
of the most perfect specimens of a Roman road bridge which has come
down to us (p. 209). Beyond this we pass into a district where vineyards*
line each side of the road, for the vine still flourishes here as it it did in
Roman times,' and the remains of villas are, accordingly, insignificant (p. 2 1 1 ).
For here the sites available were, for the most part, flat-topped ridges
separated by deep ravines ; whereas at Tiisculum and at Tibur — the latter
especially, where villas of great size were far more frequent, and where the
view of the Campagna lying below was the supreme attraction — the steep
sides of hills were selected, and it became necessary, in order to acquire
a level surface for the house and the extensive gardens attached to it, to
construct enormous terraces supported by massive substruction walls.
These in themselves offer an efficient resistance to the wear and tear of
time, and are to some extent spared from destruction, since they are
actually useful to the modern cultivator, at any rate to the olive grower.
So that it is easy, in these districts of the Alban and Sabine hills, to form
an idea of the number and magnificence of the villas from the remains
which still exist, though the buildings which crowned these enormous
terraces have often entirely disappeared. Where these platforms were less
frequent, as in the country round Praeneste, and in the districts along each
side of the Via Pracnestina, the remains are less massive, and have, to a
far greater extent, fallen a prey to the ravages of time and to the hand of
roan. Often a heap of bricks and marble is the only indication of the site
of a villa : and a single fragment of pavement all that may appear for miles
along the line of an ancient road (cf p. 167). It is, in truth, wonderful
that so much has disappeared, rather than that so much is left to us.
What must have been the density of population in Roman times, and how
much must have been done by means of drainage and cultivation, is
indirectly shown by the unhealthiness of the now abandoned Campagna.
In earlier times than those of which we are speaking, even the pestilential
district west of the Volscian hills, at the edge of the Pontine marshes,
was inhabited and cultivated by a lai^e population, who were enabled to
do so by means of an extensive system of land drainage.^ And once more
the same results are being achieved in the same way. An agricultural
colony established at Ostia is now able to live there permanently, whereas
' Cf. Horace, Sat, i. 7, a8 : turn Praeneslinus .... dunti vindemialir el inviilui.
* J« Dc La filanchire, Uh CkafUrt de rHistBirt PeHline.
136 The British School at Rome.
a few years back existence was hardly possible. This is the direct result
of the abandonment of the salt marshes, and of the drainage of the land.
*And, in time, the same may occur in the rest of the Campagna. The
rapidity of the spread of cultivation is most remarkable, even within the
few years of my own recollection. Already that radiating outwards from
Rome has almost met that descending from the Alban hills at Ciampino,
not far to the east of the Via Appia ; and it is not impossible that a
hundred years of prosperity may make the Campagna once again a huge
garden, as it was in the days of the Empire.
If this hope is realized, Rome will once more be surrounded by a
spider's web of roads, as in the days when the Campagna was thickly
populated. At present the main lines still exist and are in use, but hardly
any of the deverticula are available even for cart traffic, so that the high
roads remain unconnected, and to reach one from another without return-
ing to Rome is, except on foot or on horseback, well nigh impossible.
The object of the present papers is two-fold : to determine the course
of each of the three main roads (with their branches) which traverse the
district under consideration, and to describe the ancient remains which
exist near each road, as evidence of the inhabited character, or the reverse,
of the country through which it runs, and of its comparative importance
or unimportance. The evidence by which the course of a road may be
ascertained is of two kinds, the literary, and what we may call the material.
The first is naturally of a more general character than the latter, consisting
as it does of passages in classical writers, and of the ancient Itineraries,
which merely give the towns and post-stations on the road and the
distances between them. The material evidence, on the other hand, is that
which exists upon the spot, consisting of, first, what is left of the road
itself: the remains of its pavement, of its embankments and bridges, of
the cuttings made through the hills to avoid steep ascents and descents.
To these must be added the inscriptions belonging to it, on milestones,
bridges, &c. Then come the ruins of buildings connected with it : tombs
with their inscriptions, ustrina, where the bodies of the dead were burnt, villas
and water reservoirs bordering on the road, and so forth. It may happen,
as is the case with the Via Praenestina, that this evidence is so abundant
that the course of the road may be traced without great difficulty : on the
other hand, it is sometimes the case, especially where a modern road
coincides with an ancient one, that the only argument in favour of its
Classical Topography of the Roman Campagna. — I. 137
antiquity is the fact that we know (or suppose) that an ancient road ran
between two given points, and can discover no traces of it elsewhere, so
that we are driven to believe that the modern road has obliterated all
traces of the ancient. • Again, we often find fragments of pavement at
considerable intervals, and are in this case obliged to reconstruct on paper
what we believe to have been the course of the road in ancient times. It
need hardly be said that, if excavations could be made at certain points,
many problems which now present difficulties would probably be much
simplified. Many relics of antiquity are, it is true, unearthed in the course
of agricultural operations. The rapid spread of cultivation in the country
round Rome leads to the continual discovery of roads, buildings, inscrip-
tions, works of art, coins, &c. ; but the object with which the work is done
usually excludes any attempt at scientific exploration, and in many cases
discovery and destruction are simultaneous. These papers may perhaps
also claim consideration as an attempt to describe, so far as possible, all
the ancient remains of any importance the existence of which could be
ascertained by careful and repeated examination of the district under
notice. By thus recording them one is able to estimate the relative
density of population, to observe which parts of the Campagna were
inhabited by the wealthy owners of large villas, and which by agricultur-
ists ; and the record is the more important inasmuch as the continual
destruction just alluded to will, in all probability, soon preclude the possi-
bility of compiling it.
The present work cannot, however, claim to be in any way complete.
In the first place, I have adopted what I know to be a purely artificial
distinction in limiting my consideration of the history and topography of
the present section of the Campagna to the classical period. There is in
reality no break of continuity between Roman times and the Middle Ages ;
but Professor Tomassetti, whose monographs upon the mediaeval topo-
graphy of the Campagna are indispensable to students, has not yet dealt
with the three roads which are described in the following pages, and I
have neither the requisite knowledge nor the time at my disposal to
attempt in any way to anticipate the results of his investigations. I have
not even been able to peruse all the books which bear directly upon the
subject, still less to examine thoroughly the large store of manuscript
material from which so much of our information is derived. Further,
until Professor Lanciani's Storia degli Scavi di Roma appears, and the
' 138 The Butish School at Rome.
sixth and fifteenth volumes qf the Corpus Inscriptionum Lalinarum are ]
comi^eted, a large amount of Indispensable material will remain inacces- I
sibk. Finally, Ae nature of the subject is such, that absolute complete-
ness and finality are not to be hoped for, though one should devote a lire-
thqe to the study of the C a mp a g na. As I have said, new discoveries are
continually taking {dace, so that a second visit to a site already explored
may fiimish considerable additions to one's knowledge. This has been
espedally the case in the ne^bourilODd of Torre lacova (p. 349), where I
the' spread of cultivation has been so great that I have had to make many I
alterations and additions to tlte text while these papers were actually in I
progress. Or a chance meeting with an inte]1if,'ent inhabitant may lead to j
tiie Investigation of important renuios, the existence of which could not \
have been learnt from the maps ot books availably and would avver haye
been suspected by one's sdf.
I have purposely restricted myself to what some may cpnikler tlie diy
hemes of the subject I have not attempted b> give any i(iei^ V tile diarai
of tiie Campagna, of the beauty vX die Kieaery, of Am onfaJHi^ Jdndnew
of the inhabitants (due, it may be, to a superstitioua belief tliat the "pud
Ei^lishman" is not to be banned for good luck'jtwkc^Xof die striking
contrast between the abundant traces of the life that flourished there in
the past, and the sometimes overwhelming solitude that reigns in the
present. The Campagna has in truth a fascination of its own which
defies analysis ; and those who are not content with a passing glimpse at
Tivoli or Frascati, but try to study it more deeply, will find that the task
is a pleasant one indeed. It only remains to express my warmest thanks
to those with whom my excursions have constantly been made, and to
whom I am indebted for continual advice and assistance — Professor
Lanciani and my father. Space forbids me to mention many others
who have helped me, to whom,- however, my gratitude is none, the less
on that account.
VIA COLLATINA.
The Via Collatina diverged to the right from the Via Tiburtina of
imperial times just outside the Porta Tiburtina of the walls of Aurelian.'
' I shall not enter here into ihe someuhal difficult question of the lopographical history of
the Viae Tiburtina and Collatina within the walls of Aurelian. It is probable that both oiiginalljr
stalled from the Porta Viminalis, the dblances being therefore reckoned bam thai gate, and not
'Classical Topographv of thk Roman Cameagna
-I.
"39
it was a short and unimportant country road, and the only allusions to
it in any classical writer are made by Frontinus {De Aguis, i, 5, 10), who
states (i.) that the springs of the Aqua Virgo (which is still in use and
known by the same name) are eight miles distant from Rome by the Via
Collatina, an indication which agrees with that of I'Hny {H.N. xxxi. 42),
who states that the springs lie two miles to the left of the eighth milestone
of the Via Praenestina, and (ii.) that the springs of the Aqua Appia are
780 paces to the left of the Via Collatina (the text of Frontinus has '" Via
Praenestina," but it has been demonstrated by Lanciani, Comtncnlari di
Frontino, 35, that no such springs exist there, and that the reading must be
altered into Collatina), between the sixth and seventh milestones, and that
Augustus increased the volume of water by tapping some fresh springs
situated to the left of the Via Praenestina near the Via Collatina. It is
probable, in fact, that the road was used in the time of the Empire mainly
for the service of the aqueducts. No mention of it occurs in the
Itineraries, nor have any of its milestones (though it must have possessed
them) been discovered.
Paulus {Ad Fest. p. 37, MUller) mentions a Porta Collatina, deriving
the name Collatia from the fact that the wealth of other cities was collected
there. The name has probably arisen from a confusion (Jordan, Topo-
graphie, i. i, 245). Attempts have been made to identify it with a
small postern just to the S.E. of the Porta Tiburtina, but this is of
course not a gate in the Servian, but in the Aurelian wall. It is, too, only
eight feet in width, and was closed almost as soon as it was built (Nibby,
Mura di Roma, 344).
The line of the road is represented by the lane known as Via Malabarba.
a corruption of Mola Barba, which occurs in documents of the tenth
century. The first part of this lane has been transformed by the construc-
tion of a new residential quarter outside the gate. As soon as the edge of
this is reached the lane begins : and here it is crossed at right angles by an
from the I'oria Esquilina. HCilsen, however [Forma Criii Romai, ub. L), considers Ihit in
Republican limes these two roads started haxa the I'orta Esquilina, «nd names the slrip of ruad
bdwecD tliis gale axA their bifurcation, a little way beyond the later Porta Tiburtina, " Via Gabina
(Tibuitinft Velus)," by which he probably means that in early limei the liisl few mites of the Via
Collatina served as the first portion of the road to Gabii and Praenesle. Kieperl dmilaily marks a
road (in ht« wall map oi Laiiuml running direct From the Porta Esquilina to the second milettone of
the Via Praenestina. The object in both cases is to explain the passage of Si rabo quoted below
(p. 150, note I). Of Kicfwrl's toad, however, there are nu traces at all (Lanciani, forma Urbis,
Z^, 2S)i nor do I know of any coiul connecting the Via Collatina wilh the Via Praeneslina within
the first mile or two of the dly.
The British School at Rome.
[ancient re d leading from the Porta Maggiore to S. Lorenzo, the pavement
\ of which was discovered in 1881 near the cemetery, at a depth of ten metres
I ■below the present surface (5«//. Com. 1881, 203). On the Via CoUatina no
■ pavement exists in si/ii, but there are many loose paving stones along the
I road : and a house to the N. of it on the E. of the main railway line to
' Florence has many paving stones and much marble built into tt. A mile
I from the gate tlie lane approaches the railway to Tivoli. The Via Collatina
' must have followed the same direction, and has been perfectly obliteraled
I by it.^ Two headless female statu"'' "'^rc discovered N. of the railway,
rW. of the Casale Bertone, in 190O: tht ^' were fairly good in execution,
though left rough at the back, which shows that they adorned a tomb, or
."ere in some position where the front alone was visible. They had
ibviously been concealed where they were found, for each was lying oa I
«o paving -stones. Fragments of late walling were also found {Not. i
f- Scav. 1900, 89). Further N. are the ren ains of a villa, which was decor- |
f ated with a great variety of marbles.
A tomb belonging to the road was iscovered near Tor de' Schiavi in \
_]aking the railway (iVof. Scav. 1886, 8 , and half a mile further on the ■
pavement of the road was brought to ;ht, at r6o m. below the present
ground level (AW. Scav. 1886, 454, Biui. Com. 18S7, 49). Just beyond the
site of the fourth milestone, which lies to the N. of the fourth milestone
of the Via Praenestina, the line of the old road comes once more
into present use, being reached by a short modern branch from
the Via Praenestina (p. 161}. The bridge crossing the Fosso di Centocelle
is modern, but the channel beneath it is paved with old paving stones,
and so is the space in front of the fountain of the Acqua Vergine. Many
of the bridges, too, have old paving stones used as kerb stones. Westphal
{Romiscfte Kampagne, 99) states that he saw here and there blocks of tufa
which supported the ancient road, and speaks of the cuttings made for it
through the hills as a sure proof of its antiquity. Further ai^^uments in
favour of the antiquity of the road as a whole are those drawn from the
passages of Frontinus quoted above, and the fact that the construction of
such a road in mediaeval times is in the highest degree improbable.
About 300 yards beyond the site of the fourth milestone some tombs
' It seems prnbable ihal long before the conslniclion of the railway it was Dot easy lo trace,
for, though Ameli (1693) and Fabreltj {.De Aqtiis tt A-/uaediictibui, Diss. i. lab. i. 1st ed. 16S0)
mark it perfectly Correctly, subsequent writers do rou The sudden turn at right angles of Ihe Aqu*
Virgo, so as lo run parallel to the road, is strong evidence (hat it look this line.
Classical Topography of the Roman Campagna.— I. 141
were discovered in making the railway, constructed of tiles laid so as to
form a gabled roof over the bodies : one tile bore the stamp CJ,L, xv.
361, of A.D. 123-125. The date is, however, no indication of the period to
which the tombs belong, which must be far later. The tombs were
inclosed by a rough wall of unmortared blocks of tufa.
Three hundred yards further E. remains of walls in opus reticulatum
were found, and an amphora with the inscription ALEX AN DE/// {CJ,L,
XV. 3398) on each of the handles. {^Not, Scav, 1886, 454, BulL Com,
1887, SO.;
It is curious to observe how much the road winds, and how it contin-
ually crosses and recrosses the aqueduct ; but I have not been able to
detect any trace of its having originally taken a straighter course than it
does at present.
To the N. of the road, near the fifth milestone, lies the large Casale of
Cervelletta, which is situated nearly a mile to the S. of the great red tufa
quarries known as the Grotte di Cervara (Fig. i).^ These are now entirely
abandoned, and overgrown with bushes and climbing plants, so that the
general effect is most picturesque.
Close to the railway station of Cervara, S. of the line, are the remains of
a network of small passages, cut in the rock and lined with cement. They
were used for the storage of water for the use of a villa, of which some
traces exist. A mile to the E. of Cervelletta is the Casale della Rustica.
The older casale stands on the side of a hill, while a newer building
occupies the summit In front of the latter are the sadly damaged remains
of a fine mosaic pavement, much of which has been recently destroyed :
what remains consists of geometrical designs in black and white ; and I was
told that the missing portion was similar. The hill is pierced by a system
of passages cut in the rock, i m. in width, and about 2 m. in height, which
served for the storage of water, round shafts being cut at intervals so that
the cisterns should be accessible from above. The cement with which
these passages are lined is very hard opus signinum. It is curious that
Nibby {Analisi, iii. 45) mistook the main passage of this system for the
specus of the Aqua Virgo, for the level is far too high : the aqueduct does
as a fact pass under the hill, but at a lower level. Nibby also mentions
the existence of opus quadratum and opus incertum behind the older
* For the use of this and some other photographs (Figs. 4, 7, 12) I am indebted to the kindness
of Miss Dora Bulwer.
142
The British School at Rome.
casale. These remains have now disappeared, but, besides the mosaic]
pavement mentioned above, fragments of marble reliefs and an Ionic!
capital testify to the presence of an important building here. A few years
ago a marble cippus was found here decorated with reliefs on all four sides.
The front represents the facade of a tomb : on each side of the door is a
cypress, and beyond this a square pilaster : on the back is a well executed
relief of a bull, while on each of the sides is an olive tree, with a stork on
— TUKA Ql
either side, one of which holds a snake. The cippus measures 071 m. in^
width by 0'53 in depth : the top is broken off, and the height is at present^
1-02 m. To the S.E., not far from the road, are the remains of a villa.
On the N. of the casale, at a distance of a mile and a half from the road,
and close to the Anio, are more quarries like those of Cervara. Among
these, close to the river bank, is a small platfonn supported by walls of
rough opus quadratum of tufa, with architectural fragments in travertine,
which may be the base of a small temple.
Classical Topography of the Roman Campagna.— I. 143
Parker's assertion that he had found the specus of the Aqua Appia
in the quarries of La Rustica is not credible, not to mention the fact
that the quarries are just double the distance named by Frontinus from
the Via Collatina, (see Lanciani, loc, cit.)y and no springs that could
be taken for those of the aqueduct are at present visible in the
neighbourhood. The name " Le Piscine " given by the Staff Map to a
piece of ground to the W. of the quarries arises simply from the
existence there of a small tunnel cut in the rock for a length of about 70
yards — probably a water reservoir, connected with a villa — which could
hardly have anything to do with a great aqueduct.
Betweien Le Piscine and Cervelletta are the remains of a villa rustica.
Returning to the road, we find on the hill N. of it, a little before the ninth
kilometre is reached, the remains of a large villa.
Before the eleventh kilometre stone, which is near the site of the ancient
eighth milestone, in the garden S. of the road, is a large dolium 4*30 m. in
circumference, the aperture having a diameter of 0*62 m. It was found
buried up to the lip in the stone quarries a little to the E. ; and I was told
that no traces of any building were seen near it. There are, however, there
the remains of an extensive villa which have been brought to light by
quarrying operations. To the N. of the road is a mediaeval tower ; in the
flat ground below it the springs of the Aqua Virgo are collected and intro-
duced into the aqueduct, the subterranean channel of which is to a large
extent of Roman date. The lane which leads 'hence northwards has
ancient paving stones as kerb stones, and there are others in use as pave-
ment round the fountain just S. of the railway. They have probably been
taken from the Via Collatina, unless they belonged to the deverticulum
leading to the springs of the Aqua Appia (Frontinus, De AquiSy i. 5).
In clearing away some earth close to the springs of the aqueduct in
December 1900, some late tombs (in which the bodies were covered by two
tiles forming a gabled roof) were discovered. One bore the stamp CLL,
XV. 15 12 b, the other (a flange tile 0*57 x 0*33 wide inside flanges) 1323 a.
Further excavations have led to the discovery of the remains of a villa, in
which were found two brickstamps {CLL. xv. 362, 709 b) of the time of
Hadrian and some unimportant inscriptions (see Bull Com, 1901, 155 ; Not,
Scav. 1901, 328). Excavations were made in 1775 by Niccolo la Piccola
in the tenuta of Salone in the quarto di Prato Bagnato, to the S. of the
Via Praenestina (p. 171). CL,L, vi. 10837 and 19338 were found in the
144 The British School at Rome.
same tenuta, and were placed in the Museo Rusconi (Marini. ScheJeX
while C.I.L. vi. 20595 "'^ preserved in the sixteenth century in the Villa of
Cardinal Trivulzio, now the Casale of Salone.' The springs were situated
within the property of Lucullus (Frontinus, De Aquis, \. 10), which in the
time of Trajan was in the hands of Ceionius Commodus (ii. 70), the
adoptive son of Hadrian, father of Lucius Verus, through whom it became
part of the imperial domain. The springs of the Aqua Appia lay 780
paces from the road, nearer the river Anio ; but as the aqueduct began at a
depth of 50 feet below ground, it would be difficult to identify them
exactly.
The cutting of the road up the hill from the eleventh kilometre appears
to be ancient, and is paved with broken selce, perhaps fragments of
paving stones. At the top of the next descent the modern road has been
deepened, and the line of the ancient road has been cut obliquely. The
pavement is seen on the left in the bank. The modern road now crosses
to the left of the ancient, which may be traced by a level space on the
right. Westphal {Romische Kampagtte, 100) saw paving stones (not in
situ) hereabouts. See also the MS. notes of the late Henry Stevenson
(volume labelled Vie Prenestina e Labicand) which are now preserved in
the Vatican Librarj^
Just before the twelfth kilomitre stone is reached, the modern road
turns sharply to the N. ; just after it has done so, a cart track goes oiT
due E, This, by the cuttings made for it through the rock, is clearly seen
to be an ancient road, and to the N. of the Casale Benzone there are a few
paving stones in situ in one of these cuttings, which is 4'8o mfetres in width.
It is this road that is rightly taken by Fabretti {De Aquis, Diss. i. tab. i,
and map opp. p. 90 : cf. p. 1 59) ^ to be the real Via Collatina, while Nibby
{Anah'si map) and Gell (map) make the Via Collatina diverge from the
road to Lunghezza about a mile nearer Rome. But the view of the first
two writers, that Collatia stood, not at Lunghezza, but at Castellaccio
deir Osa, has no foundation in fact (p. 148), and the road, as we shall see,
does not lead there.^ The absence of pavement in situ can be easily
' C.I.L. vi. 20609 w^ sten ihere in the seventeenth century, but existed in Rome itself, near
S. Angclo in Pescheria, in the sinteenth,
' The refereTiccs are to the second edition (the one generally met with) published in 17S8.
The first edition (1680) does not contain the second of the two maps cited.
' Xor is there, so far as I know, any trace of the prolongation of this road to Fonte Lucano
or to Le Cappannelle which Fabretti and Ameti (in his map published in 1693) both show. The
theory is probably due to confusion with the load described below on p. 177.
Classical Topography of the Roman Campagna. — I. 145
accounted for. Lanciani {op, cit. p. 122) gives the following extract from
the Archivio del Ministero di Belle Arti (v. i. S), " nel Dicembre del 1858 il
Serafini affittuario di Lunghezza scoprl e distrusse buon tratto del selciato
antico, per cavarne materiali destinati ad una maceria. II selciato era
largo m. 2*67, e nascosto da soli 12 centimetri di terra." Fabretti (^De
AquiSy p. 160) notes that the road had only this width instead of the
fourteen feet which the important highroads had, and the fact that
Fabretti identified correctly the course of the ancient road shows that it
was this, and not the modern road to Lunghezza, that was destroyed by
Serafini.
The Tenuta Benzone was the scene of some important excavations in
1883 (described by Lanciani in Not, Scav, 1883, 169). The excavations
were opened at the highest point, on the site of the Casale, and the remains
of a villa attached to a large estate were found, constructed of opus
reticulatum and brick. The floors lay at a depth of r20 m. below the
modern level. The chief apartment was of the basilican shape, measuring
22 m. by 10 (the diameter of the apse being 5 m.) with two rows of
columns : one good composite capital was found, and two bases, made of
the fragments of an inscription of the gens Coponia turned upside down,
were still in position, with the marble threshold between them. In the
centre of the coarse mosaic pavement was a square basin or fountain, with
an emissarium cut in the tufa rock below. Behind the basilica were three
rectangular halls, orientated like it E. and W., and one circular room con-
taining a bath with steps down to it. All these rooms were paved with
rhombi of veined marbles. In the large room were found three fine
antefixae of terra cotta, a bust of rare alabaster (cotognino) without the
head, and a dolium with the inscription C.I.L, xv. 2524.
Two square shafts cut in the rock and probably communicating with
Roman water cisterns may be seen, one N., the other S. of the Casale.
The Via CoUatina now descends into the valley E. of the Casale
Benzone. Here it was probably joined by a deverticulum from the Via
Praenestina (p. 175), which continues to the N. of it along the left bank of
the stream, but cannot be traced very far. Above it on the W. are the
remains of a large villa in opus reticulatum, and in the side of the hill close
to it is a tomb cut in the rock, square, with three recesses, one containing
a sarcophagus cut in the rock, while the other two have shelves for the
bodies. Before the Via CoUatina crosses the stream it passes N. of a large
L
146 T)iK British Scnoot. at Rome.
squAre open water resen'oir constructed of small rectangular blocks of tufa
with much mortar between them. In the cliffs to the S. of this is a tomb
cut [ii the rock. On the furtlicr side of the stream it passes X,E, through
another cutting, and at the tenth mile from the Porta Viminalis crosses the
valley which runs under the W. side of the plateau on wiiich Collatia
Hlood. Passing under the S. extremity of the plateau, it ascends by a deep
cutting on the E. aide, which displays all the characteristics of ancient
work, being so arranged that any one attempting to enter by it would be
exposed to attack from either side.
To the K. of it, at the point where it enters the city, is a square shaft
cut in the rock to a depth of 1 5 feet, probably an ancient well.
From this entrance to the city a road ran S. to the Osteria dell' Osa,
keeping high above the VV. bank of : stream (p. 177.I, while another
ancient road probably ran below the cliffs on the E.side of the cit>' through
the narrow \'alley which separates them from the long ridge to the S.. as
the field wall flanking the modern track is full of pa\nng stones. This
road soon joined the ro.id from Gabii. which comes from the E. bank of
the Osa. and is described on |;^ 14S. and enters the city in a N.W. dir^tion.
At the point of j\niction are three rock-hewn tombs, which have lost their
original form. Thrt-c other tombs may be seen on the further bank of
the Fos^o dell" Osa, a few hundred >'ards further to the N.E.
Ascentling to the plateau, we find a perfectlj- !e\"el rectangular space,
de.-itilute, it is true, of remains of city walls, of ancient buildings, or even of
fraj;mc«ts of jKkltcry, but presenting an admirable site for a city. It is
protcvtc\l on the S.\V. and N.E. by deep and wide vallej-s, which in ancient
tiine.-i wert" j«v>bably more marshy than they are at present ; on the S.E, a
««nx'w but licep \-alley, which ma\- be artilicial (the difls of the plateau
itself haw vXTtaintj- been scarjievl in places, especially \V. of the entrance
l»\»m Rome^. w(v»r.«es it frviin the Um^ ridge which runs down to the
•.VtetiA iteir vW ; while on the N.W. a narrviw neck connects it with the
1^vk o»» « hieh the «K\itAe\ aI castle »>t" Lunj;^xia stands. This is itself
\«\»te\t\\t v>n the N- atKl \V, b>- the .\nk> ^which in ancient tiines p(obabI>-
\an in^nKNviately ikkKt the N- esn! ■,>f the h:"', trtste»d ol" makir^ a long
U.-!*,! A< At {■<VN.-ttt\ ATxi vn;-. the S- b> A ixx"-' xaZ^ex. The rw* has clearly
»kv*\ miuh ?4.a«>>iV,. :tKN.:-:!i at «ha: ^Ute is ^kVr<:V- To the EL of the
V'a^V » A 'a>v^ v'i'ifi^ v;aATT>i\ which t"A>" S^ i.>* mei-iiji^-i; of^^^in
I'hv >iV i> thus v^iw ixvu'-sir'v a^va-, ^cvi ^c a:; iiN^er.: Latin citw and
Classical Topography of the Roman Campagna.— I. 147
the position of the arx is characteristic. The city walls, if such ever
existed, may have been destroyed by time or by the hand of man, or the
scarping of the cliffs may have been considered sufficient. As to Collatia,
classical writers give us little information, and the identification is made
with the help of the passages of Frontinus, which enable us (p. 1 39) to
identify the road which leads direct to this place with the Via Collatina.
Livy (i. 38) tells us that it was taken from the Sabines, while Virgil (Aen,
vi. 774) speaks of it as a Latin colony. In the time of Cicero it had lost
all importance (De Lege Agraria^ ii. 35, 96). Strabo (v. 3, 2, p. 230) classes
it, along with Antemnae, Fidenae, and Labicum, among places t6t€ /a€i/
'rroXix^ia.vvvSe/coyfiai KTrjaeif; ISicot&v; and Fliny {H.N. iii. 68) enumerates
it among the lost cities of Latium. There are no traces of any Roman
villa, such as are often found upon the sites of ancient Latin towns ; but
these may have been obliterated by the construction of the castle, which
is in its present form a large fortified farmhouse. In the courtyard are
several fragments of marble columns, and three Corinthian capitals ; there
are also many Roman paving stones in the pavement. The inscriptions
found here or hereabouts are few and unimportant {C.I.L. xiv. 3905-3907).
A Greek metrical sepulchral inscription, found either here or at Tor dei
Sordi, is published by Grossi-Gondi, // Tempio di Castore e Polluce sul
Tuscolo (Rome, 1901, p. 17).
It now remains to be decided whether the modern road to Lunghezza,
from the point where the Via Collatina leaves it, follows the line of an
ancient road or not. The fact that the road has been recently gravelled
and put in order, and the face of the rock in the cuttings smoothed
(iespecially in those just after the twelfth and thirteenth kilometre stones),
renders it more difficult to do so ; but it is most probable that we should
answer in the affirmative. There are no paving stones /;/ sitii^ but several
are in use in the bridge over the stream just to the E. of the thirteenth
kilometre.^ Shortly beyond this the modern road diverges to the right
towards the railway station, while a lane descends to the left of it, and
crossing the stream by a modern bridge, reascends steeply to Lunghezza.
Halfway up the ascent a small tomb chamber cut in the rock is seen on
the left, the opening of which (now filled up) was on the VV., the hole at
the E. end having been made later. This would seem to indicate that the
* a little E. of the place where the road crosses the railway, a mediaeval cemetery belonjjing
to some domus culta near Lunghez^ was found in making the railway in 1886 {Not. Scav. 1886, 55).
L 2
148 The Buitish School at Rome.
approach to Lunghezza, if not cntirelj' of mediaeval origin, was at any lAte
widened at some later time.
It is, however, to be noticed that Gell {Topography of Rome ami its
Vicitiiiy, 174) says; "from the point where the road to Castel dell' Osa
quits the direct line of the carriage road, [(V., about the tenth kilometre],
an ancient Via (the pavement of which is very visible) runs by Salone to
Lunghezza." Westphal (Romiscke Katitpagve, 100) noticed, at the point
where the road turns E. as it reaches the Anio, traces of the walls which
supported the road.
Stevenson, too, in hi.sMS. notes, states that he considers that an ancient
road ran between Salone and Lunghezza ; and the evidence for it seems
sufficient. In any case it was not the earliest road to Collatia.
The road which from Collatia crosses to the E. bank of the Osa divides
"directly after the crossing, one branch apparently going on due eastwards,
though it is only traceable for quite a short distance, while another followed
the right bank of the stream, going also towards the Osteria dell" Osa
(Nibby, Analtsi, i. 481). For the first mile or so no traces of it exist, but
about half a mile to the N. of Castellaccio it seems to descend from
the plateau above the valley into the valley itself. It does not however
run along the bottom nf the valley, but at a certain height above it, sup-
ported on the outer side by a retaining wall about a metre high. This
wall often rests on a shelf cut in the rock to receive it. It is constructed
of rough polygonal work of silex ('selce'), the local rock being red tufa.
There is, I believe, no other instance of polygonal work so near to Rome.
The road is probably one of the most ancient in the Roman Campagna,
being the direct line of communication between Collatia and Gabii. At
the time of its construction the bottom of the Osa valley must have been
so marshy as to be unsuitable for the passage of a road along it.
Shortly after the traces of the road begin to appear, some rock-cut
tombs are seen on the opposite side of the valley. Castellaccio dell' Osa
is soon reached. This is a ruined castle on a cliff overhanging the valley
on the E. and is taken by Fabretti (De Aquis, p. 159) and Nibby {Atialtst,
i. 47S sqq.) to be the site of Collatia. As I have already stated, there are
no traces of a road leaving the road to Lunghezza and running directly
to this point. Nor is the site itself suitable for an ancient city. It is
quite without defence on the N., E., and S. : the ground to the
E. of it is, in fact, quite level (see Gell, Environs of Rome, 171). There
Classical Topography of the Roman Campagna.— I. 149
are no traces of ancient pottery, such as one would expect to find on such
a site. The wall of opus quadratum of yellow tufa blocks, which is built
on the edge of the clifif on the W., is taken by Nibby to be a part of the
city wall, but may just as well be part of the substructure of a villa which,
from the presence of fragments of marble, may be supposed to have
stood here : the blocks are two Roman feet in height and thickness, which
is larger than the usual size of the blocks employed in early Latin fortifi-
cations, arranged in headers and stretchers in alternate courses, and the
wall is about eight feet thick.
The road continues to the S. of Castellaccio. Nearly half a mile
beyond it, it is supported by a piece of wall of rough opus quadratum of
red tufa, which must be of later date than the polygonal work. On the
opposite side of the valley is a square cutting, affording an ascent to the
plateau above, in the N. side of which cutting are some unmistakable
rock-hewn tombs. The road must have continued southwards along the
stream, joining the Via Praenestina to the E. of the Osteria dell' Osa
(P- ^T7\ Nibby {op, cit. i. 481) saw, he says, unmistakable traces of it.
VIA PRAENESTINA.
I. — From the Porta Maggiore to Tor de' Schiavi
{ff'om the First to the Third Milestone^,
The Via Praenestina, like all other roads starting from Rome, began
technically from the gate by which it passed through the Servian wall, the
Porta Esquilina, from which issued also the Via Labicana, and from this
point the distances of the Itineraries are calculated :
I tin. Ant, and Tab, Pent, Gabii 12 miles,^ on to Praeneste 11 miles,
(see p. 187). The extant milestones of the road, three in number, do not
help us much.*^ As far, however, as the bifurcation of the Labicana and
* Dessau {C.I.L. xiv. p. 279) states that the Antonine Itinerary gives the distance from Rome
to Gabii as fifteen miles, which would of course be erroneous ; but he is apparently misquoting the
Itinerary, which, according to Parthey and Finder's edition (1848), p. 143, gives the distance
correctly.
' The slip in C.I.L. xiv. p. 457 : Viae Praenestinae nulli extant cippi miUiarii is an unfor-
tunate bne. One {C.I.L. x. 8306) is fragmentar}', of the time of Maxentius, noted as situated
**nel pozzo in una masseria fuori porta Maggjiore." Another {C.I.L. x. 6886) also belongs to the
time of Maxentius, and bears the number seven (upon the reverse is C.I.L. vi. 1342), but was found
in a garden within the Aurelian walls, certainly, therefore, not in its original position. The last
is described below (p. 198).
ISO
The British School at Rome.
the Praenestina at the tomb of Eurysaces the road ran within the inhabited
area, and a description of its course belongs rather to the topography of
the city of Rome.' It will be more convenient therefore to begin from
the magnificent double arch of the Aqua Claudia and Anio Novus, now
known as the Porta Maggiore, which carried the aqueducts over the two
roads just before their bifurcation, which is marlved by the fact that the
left opening, through which the Via Praenestina passes, is sHghtly askew.
This arch was incorporated with the wall of Aurelian, and converted
into a gate of the city. Honorius closed the left hand aperture, leaving
only the right hand one open, and building a tower upon the tomb of
Eurysaces the baker, which stood, as its peculiar shape shows, at the point
where the roads separated. This tomb, which belongs to the last century
of the Republic, was exposed to view in 1838, when thetowerof Honorius
was removed (Canina, Annali, 1838, 219; Bdifisi, iv. tav. 225, 278;
C.I.I. . i. p. 232, vi. 1958 ; Jordan, Topographic, I. i. 358). The inscription
had ho;vever been seen and copied by Baldassare Pcruzzi {Sckcd. Flor.
663', Ferri, Catalogo, p. 175 : cf, also the Destailleurs portfolio in the Kunst-
gewerbe Museum at Berlin, A 376 f. 24'), so that it must have been
accessible from the inside of the tower. Ligorio (MS. liodl. f. 85') makes
an interesting comparison between the so-called rustica work of the Porta
Maggiore (the surface being intentionally lefl rough) and the pseudo-
archaic polygonal walls which support the terraces of some of the great
villas near Tivoli.
The name of the locality was " Ad Spem Veterem," though no remains
of the temple, to the existence of which the name points, have ever been
discovered. It is one of the most important topographical centres of
ancient Rome, as the meeting point of nine roads and probably of as
many aqueducts — certainly of eight ; this being the side which afforded
the easiest approach to the city.'
The Via Praenestina here leaves the Labicana on its right, and runs
almost due E., continuing in this direction as far as the Ponte di Terra,
' Stiabo(v. 3, 9, p. Z37), though he is writing of the slate of aflairs after the construction of the
tomb of Euiysaces, speaks as if the bifurcation look place at the Porta Esquilina : ^ Ao^iivJI
i,f%Biiirti lav ivi T^t 'HvicvAlnii suAiit, if' f i leal i| nptunsriyTi, it ipivftfi t' iftTira koI ravrifr
Kal Ti TiSlorri 'RttKuXTroy, wfiua, k.t.*..
But it is impossible to suppose that the two loads separated, and then reunited after a mile at
the Porta Maggiore, to separate once more just outside it. The [lassage of Sirabo, therefore,
remains inexplicable. Cf. Jordan, Topegraphie. i. I, 358, 362, and supra, p. I39n.
" See Lanciani, Commentari di Frantiita, 36.
Classical Topography of the Roman Campagna. — I. 151
an ancient bridge about two miles beyond Gabii, after which its general
direction is S.E. There are but few important turns, and the desideratum
of straightness is wonderfully well satisfied, considering the difficulty of
the country traversed beyond Gabii. The engineering of the road is on
the whole very good, though the ascents and descents are frequent and in
some places steep, and in one case (p. 202) a difficulty has been, it would
seem, wrongly dealt with.
For the first mile after leaving the gate the continuance of habitation
and cultivation has destroyed almost all traces of antiquity, and records
of excavations are scanty. The pavement of the road was discovered in
1859 within the Vigna Villaume, at some distance from the wall enclosing
it (see Lanciani, Commentari di Frontino, 90, who cites the Archivio del
Ministerio Pontificio di Belle Arti, v. i, 5). Pirro Ligorio (MS. Bodl. f 60'.)
gives a plan of a square tomb surmounted by a cone or vieta, and a chamber
in the interior in the form of a Greek cross entered from the N. side, which,
he says, was much damaged. He gives no details as to its position ; but
as it apparently came first in his description of the road, it cannot have
been very far from the gate.
The late Henry Stevenson (in his MS. notes, f 4,) gives the following
inscription as existing in the vineyard on the right of the road at the
first kilometre upon a slab of marble built into the wall of the well.
TICLAVDIO
SABINO
One of the steps leading to the wine-cellar is formed of a slab of marble
■
bearing the inscription C.I.L. vi. 16393, Cornelia Festa | hie situs est.
In the vineyard on the right at the first mile (the Vigna Sanguigni)
Stevenson copied the following unpublished inscription upon a marble
slab :
DM
SERVILIAE • PHILTATE
C- C- F- B- M
VIXANN XXI-M IV
T- FLA VI US- RHODON
Shortly after leaving the gate — ^just by the stables of the tramway —
a by-road, the Vicblo del Pigneto, diverges to the right. This is probably
The British School at Rome.
L
an ancient road — though indications of antiquity are few.' Bej'ond (he
Vigna Pulini, where are a few ancient fragments, it is now interrupted, but
the line is taken up again by the prolongation E, of the Vicolo dei
Carbonari (p. 331) and it wonld fall directly into the line of the road
described on p. 166,
Ficoroni (Mem. 8 in Fea's Miicellanea, vol. i.) mentions that one mile
from the gate, upon this road, but nearer to the Via del Pigneto, in 1703.
in the Vigna Cavallini Buonaccorsi, in the remains of a large mausoleum,"
was found a sarcophagus with the bones and skull of the deceased wrapped
in a shroud of a substance not unlike asbestos, known as amianth, which
was placed in the Vatican Library by Clement XI.
Fea, VarietA di Notisie,x\\\. p. 145, tells us that in iSrS excavations were
made in his presence by Contessa Buonaccorsi, but that nothing was found
but remains of pavements, the floor of a water reservoir, a few fragments
of inscriptions and of decorative marbles.
At the first kilometre from the modern gate a sepulchral cippus of
the end of the Republic was found in 1S99 {Bull. Com. 1899, 361). The
first existing monument of importance is the Torrone, on the left of the
road, a little less than a mile from the Porta Maggiore. Thi.': is an
enormous round tomb about 45 m, in diameter, in the centre of which
is a square chamber, built in opus quadratum of peperino, which measures
only four metres by five, and is approached by a long passage eighteen
or nineteen metres long and about 135 m. high, which runs right through
' In Bull. Com. 1891, 321, the existence is recordeii of two sepuEchral cippi, which very
probably belonged lo this road [ar.d if mi, gr> far to prove its antiquity) in ihe Vigna Serventi.
The inscription of both is identical — one is used as a step in the wine-cellar, Ihe other was found
close lo the Vicolo del Pigneto.
There are indications of an ancient road having diverged E.N.E, at the Vigna Pulini, following
the boundary between the Tenula dell' Acqua Bollicanle anii the vineyards, which belong to the
Basilica of St. Peter ; but where the bonndarj' stops all traces of the road are lost. At the Vigna
Rocchi are several fragments of marble columns and capitals, some broken selce, and a sarcophagus
ornamented with undulating channels, liearing the following unpublished inscription upon a lahu/a
ansata in the centre.
■I) ■ M-
MAVR-AVG LIB.
CHRVSOMALLVS
SE VIBVS-EMIT-SIBI
ET ■ rOSVIT ■
The sarcophagus is Z'lj in. in length, and 4:
the letters being 3 cm. in heit^ht.
- This detail is due to the Diario dt Roma, 'an. z, 1819 (reprinted
xiii. ]\ 144), where the dale is given as 1701.
height, while the tablet measures 39 by 31 cm.,
7 'arielA ai A'mhie
Classical Topography of the Roman Campagna. — I. 153
the concrete core ; the entrance is from the N. side, away from the road.
The stonework of the outside has naturally entirely disappeared. A view
of the tomb is given by Pietro Sante Bartoli {Sepolcri Antichi, tav. 58),
and a plan and conjectural restoration by Canina {Edifizi di Roma, v.
p. 86, vi. tav. 105). The tomb is the largest in the suburbs of Rome, but
the owner is unknown. Canina, on the strength of Eusebius, Citron, 01.
^75i 3 • Ti'^us Quinctius Attn scribtor togatarum Romae moritnr sepultusque
via Praenestina ad miliarium IL makes Atta the occupant ; but the
attribution is of course quite groundless.
To the W. of it must have stood the tomb of M. Aurelius Syntomus
(Ficoroni, Labico, 28 ; C.LL. vi. 13244/5), the inscription in honour of whom
still exists in the vineyard where it was found, with other marble
fragments.
Just before reaching this point are traces of the ancient pavement of
the road. Stevenson notes that he saw the track of the road in the Vigna
del Torrone. Near the Torrone, in the small Vigna Bertone, the inscrip-
tion of M. Antonius Terens, negotiator celeberrimus suariae et pecuariaCy Was
discovered in 1892 {Not. Scav., 1892, 23 ; Bull. Com. 1891, 318 ; Lanciani,
Ruins and Excavations, 515). In the Vigna di Nola, to the N. of the
Torrone, are the remains of a villa of the first century A.D. {Bull. Com.
1891 p. 322).
The road now descends through a cutting in the rock, which bears
marks of antiquity (Nibby, Analisi, iii. 627). High on the left are two
passages cut in the rock, which in Nibby s time radiated from a shaft, the
top of which was constructed in opus reticulatum, which has now
disappeared : they are probably connected with the water supply of a
villa. A cutting recently made here as an entrance into the vineyard
revealed other foundations in opus reticulatum and late tombs. (Steven-
son MS. cit. f. 4'.)
At the bottom of the valley is the Marranella stream. The Vigna
Aragni near the bridge has produced a certain number of sepul-
chral inscriptions {Not. Scav., 1876, 89; 1878, i66=C.I.L. vi. 8496,
10638, 12078, 14288, 15087, 24783, 28770).
On the further side of the bridge the Via Praenestina is crossed at right
angles by the new military road, on the W. of which is a fairly well
preserved tomb in ornamental brickwork, entered from the W. side, which
was the most highly decorated. This fact may point to the existence of a
154 The British School at Rome.
deverliculum running southwards past the facade of this torab to the
Via Labicana. though no traces of such a road have, so far as I know, been
discovered. At this point several tombs and columbaria' which lined
the road, five of which had mosaic pavements, were found in iSSo together
with the pavement of the road itself {Not. Scav., i8So, 479"; iSSi, 106;
Kaibel, I.G.I. 1509, 1840; C.I.L. vi. 24447, 25424, 258s9a, 28131, 30528
(1-4), XV. 272 — a brickstamp of 123 A.n.); also, though in made ground, a
statue of Hercules in Luna marble 90 cm. high (head and arms wanting),
of good sculpture, with the following inscription on the plinth: Heraili
lox'io sacrum C. Voltiltiis Alexander fec{ji\ The epithet lovius is unique.
The reference may be to Diocletian and Maximian (cf. C.I.L. vi. 255, 256 ;
Bull. Com. 1880, 286 ; 18S1, 4). On the E. side of the military road, and
still on tiie S. of the Via Praencstina, on the edge of the hill, is another
brick tomb, with a modern house upon it. A niche, elegantly decorated
with a scallop shell pattern in stucco, is still preserved. In front of the
tomb, at a di.stance of 10 m. from the edge of the highroad, there was
discovered a T-shaped enclosure, formed by a wall of opus reticulatum
12 m. in length, and another at right angles to it running towards the road,
L;with columns of bigio marbie in front of them — the columns had in
► later times been half hidden by masonry. In this tomb were found
various terra-cotta charms against the evil eye, including two bells, a fig
and some nuts (described by Padre Bruzza in Annali, 1881, 290, and
illustrated in tav. d'agg. U, where a plan of the tomb is also given). In the
area of the tomb were found two waterpipes bearir^ the inscription C.I.L.
XV. 747.;.
Behind this point to the S.E. are the remains of a good-sized villa
which occupied the top of the knoll, constructed partly of opus reticulatum
with tufa bricks at the angles (a style of building which belongs to the
beginning of the Empire) partly of brickwork. In the latter I found the
stamp C.I.L. xv, 712 (aetatis Hadrianae fortasse iiictpienlis). There
are remains of large pavements of black and white mosaic, still in fair
preservation, and fragments of marble are plentiful.
The modern road a.scends the hill by means of a curved cutting
breaking through, on the left, the foundations of several tombs ; the
ancient road probably ran straight up the hill. Similar slight divergences
of direction are not at all uncommon on this, as on other roads. When
' One niche contained a leaden biix (dEam. 15 cm.) in which were some eggs.
Classical Topography of the Roman Campagna.— I. 155
the Roman pavement fell into disrepair, in the early Middle Ages, it was
found to be easier to make a new track, using the materials supplied by
the tombs which lined the road, than to attempt to make the old one
passable. It would be hard indeed to find anything worse than a Roman
paved road which had been allowed to lie disused and out of repair for
many centuries, after the even surface of the pavement had once been
broken up.
Near the top of the hill on the left a small arcosolium cut in the rock,
with traces of painting on the walls and roof, was found in 1888 {Not,
Scav, 1888, 192) and still in part exists. It belonged to a small catacomb
discovered in digging for pozzolana and now blocked up (Stevenson MS.
€iL f. 5).
On the right, just before reaching the third kilometre stone, are some
foundations of a villa or tomb on the edge of a modern quarry. In the
quarry itself lies a large block of travertine with the following unpublished
inscription in finely cut letters 1 1 cm. in height.
1*02 m.
o o
va SCVLARIVS
'O
V ''ASCVLARIVS
t
0*58 m.
-<-o725 ni.-^
On the upper edge of the inscribed surface are two small protuberances,
probably intended for use in moving or fixing the stone. The tomb to
which this inscription belonged was constructed of large blocks of tufa,
some of which have also fallen into the quarry. Some of the vascularity or
makers of gold and silver plate, seem to have plied their trade on the
Sacra Via (p. 159).
On a hill on the opposite side of the road some 100 yards off, 44 m.
above sea level, are extensive remains of the foundations of two buildings.
The group further from the road belongs to a large villa ; the construction
is in opus incertum, and is a fine specimen of this kind of work. Much
finely painted stucco has fallen from the walls. The importance of the
building is further shown by the extensive rock-cut passages of its drainage
156 The British Sciioul at Romi:.
system and water reservoirs, which have been brought to light (and in 1
large measure destroyed) by quarrying operations. The water reservoirs;-'!
are distinguished by their lining of fine white cement.
The second group, nearer the road, consists of concrete foundation^iJ
and of remains of a brick structure of uncertain purpose, the brickwork of^
which is not good, the bricks themselves bearing small plain circular!
stamps (diameter about 5 cm.) which belong to a rather late date. Very f
Hkcly it was one of the five water reservoirs mentioned by Nibby j
(Atin/isi, iii. 707) as existing near the Villa Gordianorum (Tor de" Schi'avi). I
Of the rest, two still e.\ist on the S. side of the road (the eastern one of 1
the two a very large square building resting upon vaulted foundations of 1
brick and reticulatum with buttresses). To the N. of it are remains of a ,
villa, pre.'ienting a curious mixture of construction. The walls are faced
with small rectangular blocks of tufa, which near the angles alternate with
courses of bricks, this latter being a style of facing often found in conjunc-
tion with opus reticulatum, whereas small rectangular blocks of tufa ate
generally held to indicate a late date. See, however, Wiitnefeld, Vi7/a des
Hadrian, p. 26 [Jahrbueli des InsCitiits, Erganzungsheft iii.) for proof tliat
this is not necessarily the case. The fourth reservoir lay a little to the S.
(traces of the foundations remain) : while the fifth lies on the \. of the
road and is included in the group of buildings belonging to the Im]Derial
villa.
Between the Porta Maggiore and Tor de' Schiavi on the left of the
road in a vineyard (the locality is not precisely defined) the inscription
C.I.L. vi. 30529 was discovered, together with other remains in travertine
of the large tomb to which it belonged. C.I.L. vi. 84 (an altar now in the
Capitol, with the dedication Caelo aetemo Terrae matri Mercuric menc-
stratori) was first seen in the Vigna Grcppi along thi.s road in the 17th
century.
II. — Villa Gordianorum (Tor dv.' Schiavi).
The existence of such a villa on this road is attested by the following
passage of lulius Capitolinus {Vita Gorditiiii, iii. c. 32): Domiis Gordianorum
eliam nunc extat, qtiam iste Gordianus pulcherrime exornavit. est villa eorinn
via Praenestina diicentas columnas in tetrastylo habcns, qiiariim qiiinqua^nta
Catysteae, quinqtiaginta Claudianae, quinquaginla Synnades, quinqiiaginta
Numidicae pari viensura sunt. In qua basilicac centeuanae trcs, cetera
Classical Topography of the Roman Campagna. — I. 157
huic operi convenient ia et thermae quales praeter tirbem utcnnque nnsquani in
orbe terrarum. And the remains existing at this point are of such size and
magnificence that the usual identification may fairly be accepted. Certain
portions, however, must in this case have belonged to an earlier villa, as is
shown by the style of their construction, while the round building, the
so-called temple, is shown to be later by the brick stamps. It is not
likely that the villa ever extended to the south side of the road, as com-
munication between its two parts would have been rendered difificult by
the continuous belt of tombs which flanked each side : and there is no
reason for supposing that it did so.
Close to the road are some remains of foundations in opus reticulatum,
and not far from them a shaft which very likely communicates with the drain-
age or water cisterns of the villa. A little further north is part of a lofty
hall, octagonal below, circular above, lighted by round windows in the attic,
built of brick with the vaulting lightened by the insertion of empty
amphorae at intervals : a superstructure and a large round pillar in the
centre, both built of small rectangular blocks of stone, have been added in
mediaeval times.
In the Bodleian MS. of Pirro Ligorio (f. 30) a description is given of
this building, with a plan and restoration of the exterior, and a sketch of
the details of the stucco decorations of the interior. Ligorio calls it a
temple, and attributes its destruction to its use as a fortress : " Questo e
caduto per mano degli huomini, per che si uede che ne' tempi piu bassi, le
gente factiose che erano i Roma, lo circundorno di un* altro muro, i guisa
d'un reuellino, et sopra la uolta ne tirorono intorno. un altro ornato di
merli a modo di ripari, hauendoui prima piantato un pilastro di pietre, dal
centro del Tempio per insino a la uolta, per maggior sostegno di quella,
et di quelli ripari fatti da loro, et cosi fu ridutto in forma et in uso di
fortezza, la qual poi si come io mi credo .... per opera di qualche
Pontefice, o' pur del Popolo Romano, fu gettata a terra per uia di fuoco."
A plan is also given by Piranesi (Antichitd Rofnane, ii. tav. 29) which
differs from that of Ligorio in showing other chambers round the central
one, similar to those which surround the large nymphaeum of the Horti
Liciniani, generally known as the temple of Minerva Medica ; and on tav.
30 are shown two portions of the stucco decoration, the same as those
sketched by Ligorio, but naturally in a worse state of preservation. At
the present day they are still preserved in the vaulting of one of the
158 The British School at Romk.
rectangular niches which in the interior ahernate with circular niches.
Piranesi regarded the structure as a tomb. Canina {Edijisi, \. p. 88 sqq.,
vi. tav. 106, 107) considered it to be the central chamber of Ihe thermae of |
the villa: he adds a plan of them, which he confesses to be larjrely fanciful {
Still less trustwortliy is his plan of the three basilicas and of the tetrastyle i
of the villa, of which no authentic traces seem to exist.
Close to this building is a water reservoir constructed of opus reticulaturtt 1
and brick (not later in date, therefore, than the age of the Antonines) in I
two stories, and fairly well preser\'ed, though lately restored to some J
extent. To the E. of this is a large brick apse, belonging apparently to- 1
about the same period, which Canina takes to be a nymphaeutti, Piranesi
tomb {Atitich. Rom. ii. tav. 59, 60). Further N. again are traces of more I
buildings. Further E. again, and slightly nearer the road, upon the highest \
point of the hill, is a large circular building, 44 feet in diameter inside, J
with a colonnade in front, approached by a flight of steps. A considerable J
part of the building, and of its domed roof, is presen-ed. It was lighted J
by circular windows in the attic.
It has been the subject of many drawings by Renaissance architects. J
Besides those of Ligorio (see below) and many in the Uffizi collection (see I
Ferri, Caluh'^o. p. 163), plans and sketches arc to be found in a volume t
drawings at Windsor (that numbered xvii. by Michaelis, Ancient Marbles
in Great Britain, p. 719, ff 32-34). Of the portico in front nothing
remains but the concrete foundations. Ligorio, however (MS. Bodl. f. 33),
who gives plans of both upper and lower stories, determines its length at
39 feet, its width at 17, and says that existing traces of the imposts of
the columns and fragments of the columns themselves enabled him to
do so. The columns were of "marmo Thebaico," and according to the
imoscape and height of the capita! were 20 palms ( = 4'446 m.) high.
Several fragments of gray granite columns, 063 m. in diameter, are still to
be seen. Canina says that the temple was surrounded by a colonnade with
columns of Carystian marble, part of one of which and traces of the con-
struction had been found. Theexterior was decorated with stucco modelled
in imitation of opus quadratum. Inside, above the windows, is a frieze of
life-size figures painted in green, Ligorio (MS. Hodl. f. 33) and Nibby
{Analisi, iii. 707) speak of these paintings as Christian, but they seem to
be of an entirely classical type, and to represent genre scenes.
Below is a chamber, resembling closely that which lies under the hereon
Classical Topography of the Roman Campagna.— I. 159
of Romulus, son of Maxentius, near the Circus of Maxentius on the Via
Appia, to which this building is very similar. It has a large central pillar,
supporting the floor of the upper room, the distance between which and
the walls is only 14 feet all round. This chamber probably served in both
cases as the actual tomb.
The date of this building is fixed by the brick stamps {C.I.L, xv. 1627,
1628) as not earlier than the time of Diocletian, so that it can have nothing
to do with the Gordiani.
Close to this building, on the E. side of it, are some scanty remains of
the curved W. end of a small Stadium 1240 m. wide.^ In the neighbour-
hood of this villa, on both sides of the road, tombs have been discovered
in great numbers. In the Dissertazioni deir Accadeniia Pontificia, vol. viii.
pp. xxi, xxii. are two inscriptions found by Prince del Drago in 1836. As
they have not been recorded in the Corpus, I give the text of both. They
belong to tombs on the right-hand side of the road.
MATIVSDOMETIVS
VASCVLARI VS • DE • VIA • SACRA
M • ATI • ANTEROTIS • VASCVLARI
LIBVA-.LXII
ET • HERES • IN • PARTE • SEXTA
TFL-THESMOET
FLEVDOSIAE
HEDIVSCAESN
SER • A • VESTE • MVND •
FECIT PARENTIBVS
SIBIETSVIS
Other sepulchral inscriptions found here are given in Not, Scav, 1883,
pp. 82, 132 ; 1887, 188. In the first article a description is given of a group
of tombs beginning 300 metres from the third kilometre stone from Rome,
and lining each side of a road parallel to the Via Praenestina, which, if
produced, would run along the front of the " temple " of Tor de' Schiavi.
Most of these were of fine opus reticulatum, with niches for one or two
* The map is not on a sufficiently large scale to render it possible to indicate these remains
with absolute accuracy — in fact, a good deal has been omitted from it at this and other crowded
points in order to avoid confusion.
i6o The British School at Rome.
urns, alternating with neat aediculae. The absence of brick would indicate
that the opus reticulatum belonged to the first century ; but the style of
the inscriptions and of the stucco decorations points rather to the second
or third century. It is also to be noted that loculi were found in the same
tombs as the urns. It would seem therefore that these columbaria must
have been left unoccupied for a long time after their construction, and used
for the first time a century or two later. Several similar tombs are to be
seen just beyond the Tor de' Schiavi on the N. edge of the modern road
where it descends through a cutting ; and in front of the Tor de' Schiavl
some have been recently disclosed in digging holes for the planting of trees
along the road. One was a small columbarium with brick walls, covered
with stucco, with traces of painting. The W. end was probably rgo m,
long, and had two niches o'35 m. deep, each holding two urns: the lip of
one of the urns lay no m. below the level of the modern road. It has
already been filled in again.
On the S. side of the road, on the rising ground above it, are several
tombs in a better state of preser\-ation, including two columbaria of opus
reticulatum : one an elegant square structure with brick niches each con-
taining two urns, alternately round and square, and traces of painting, which
has been altered in late times. Another further E. has two or three tiers
of urns in good preservation, and a bee-hive roof.
Lanciani (AW. Scav. 1890, 118) notes that these columbaria, which
belong to the first and second centuries a.d., were partly constructed with
materials from tombs of the end of the Republican period, as various
inscriptions on blocks of travertine were found embedded in their walls.
Similar violations of the sanctity of tombs in ancient times are less un-
common than is sometimes supposed. At Pompeii, in the area of the newly
discovered temple of Venus Pompeiana near the Porta Marina, a marble
slab bearing a sepulchral inscription of the Republican period has recently
been found, which had been brought from a tomb outside the gate to be
used as building material {Not. Scav. 1898, 422). In these columbaria
there were no traces of inscriptions above the niches. Two inscriptions
only were found, one on a marble cippus, the other on a marble stele.
There were also found some tombs of a later period, covered with a
gabled roof of tiles bearing the stamp C.I.L. xv. 27.
Among the inscriptions recorded as having been found at or near Tor
de' Schia\'i are C.I.L. \\. 927 {Neroni Caesari Aug. et saiicto Silvati[o\
Classical Topography of the Roman Campagna. — I. i6i
aediculam cum ima^in[e] Faustus Caesaris d{e) s{ua) p{ecunia) \f{ecitj\,
discovered by Fortunati in 1 86 1-2); CJ.L, vi. 1945 (discovered by
Capranesi at the beginning of last century), and various other sepulchral
inscriptions, most of them discovered by Fortunati at the same time. (See
index to CJ,L, xiv. which is however neither perfectly accurate nor
absolutely complete). Fortunati also discovered a mosaic pavement with
four female heads, representing the Four Seasons (^BulL Inst, 1861, p. 85).
Fabretti {Inscripiiones, p. 12) gives a drawing of the interior of a colum-
barium found near Tor de* Schiavi in his day, showing the arrangement of
niches and the distribution of the urns.
III.— From Tor de' Schiavi to Ponte di Nona
{from tJie Third to the Ninth Milestojie).
Just before the fourth kilometre is reached, a modern road, wrongly
supposed to be the ancient Via Collatina by Holstenius {ad Cluveriiim,
p. 102), and many others (including Kiepert, in his map at the end of C.LL.
xiv.)^ diverges to the N., which, at the crossing of the Tivoli railway, falls
into the line of the ancient Via Collatina {supra, p. 140). On the S. of the
road are the remains of a tomb or a small water reservoir, with two cham-
bers, in two stories, presenting a curious mixture of construction. The
inside of one of the walls is faced with excellent opus reticulatum, the
outside with bricks and small rectangular blocks of tufa, one course of the
former alternating with from one to four of the latter. This last style of
construction one would ascribe to the fourth century were it not for the
opus reticulatum on the inside of the wall.
In the vineyard known as " Pedica di Tre Teste" a sepulchral relief
was found in 1897 {Not, Scav. 1897, 60). In the excavations for the
construction of the fort on the S. side of the road, no discoveries of
importance were made : a few tombs, " a capanna," />., with the bodies
lying on the ground, covered with a pointed gabled roof of tiles, a few coins,
some glass spoons, and two amphorae vinariae {Not, Scav, 1881, 90).
Traces of tombs continue to be observed along the road, especially on
the N. side. Here once stood a very fine brick tomb, known as the Casa
Rossa from its colour (see dal Pozzo drawings at Windsor in the vol.
^ Nibby's map is incorrect, but he knew the truth {Anaiisi, iii. 627).
M
i6a The British School at Rome.
numbered xv. by Michaelis {AncUnt MarbUs in Great Britain, p. 719), ff.
3, 5 ; Ficoroni, Vestigi di Roma Antica, Lib. i, c. 26 ; Cecconi, Storia di
Palestrina, p. 17; Nibby, v4M(i//i»', i. 397,111. 628), which was completely
destroyed by Don Camillo Massimo in 1824. Not far off was discovered
in the eighteenth century the tomb of a boy, in which was found a golden
bulla (see Ficoroni, Bolla d'Oro, p. 6 sqq., reprinted by Fea, MisceUanea, vol.
i. p. 174, Mem. 117). Excavations conducted by Vescovali in iSipata
distance of three miles from Rome, near the road, yielded the following
inscriptions: C.I.L. vi., 1S81, 9168, WS77, 12174, 15017, 15100, 16406,
16873. 1706S, 19024, 19263, 19551, 23668. Also four pavements in black
and white mosaic (one with a Gorgon's head in the centre), and two sar-
cophagi on one of which the figures in relief still bore traces of gilding.
(See Diariodi Roma, Jan. 2, 1819= Fea, VarielA di Notisic, p. 145.) C.LL.
vi. 1463 was found here in 1830, and also two fine busts of unknown indi-
viduals now in the Braccio Nuovo of the Vatican (Helbig, Fiihrey, i. nos.
41, 47), and one of Augustus,' and some other objects (5«//. Inst. 1829, 212;
1830, 123; 1832, 4; Nibby, iii. 713). A brick tomb and a sepulchral
inscription were recently found in the property of Prince del Drago {^Not.
Scav. 1900, 26J.
About 300 yards from the road on the N., at the Casale delle Capfx:!-
lette, is a group of three brick tombs — the westernmost in two stories, and
built of the fine ornamental brickwork, with thin bricks and very small
layers of mortar, which is characteristic of tombs of the end of the second
and beginning of the third century. (In this particular tomb I observed
that ten bricks, with the layers of mortar between them, occupied only
28 cm.) They generally betray their real date by the inferior brickwork
of their foundations. Further E. is an oblong building with vaulted roof
and an apse at the W. end (where there is also some later work in opus
mixtum) and five small oblong windows at the spring of the arch in the S.
wall (in which are also two slit windows with marble lintels lower down).
Close to it is a square tomb of bad brickwork, with four small windows ;
the interior is circular, with a domed roof. This group of tombs must
belong to some intermediate road between the Viae Praenestina and Colla-
tina, or to some large private estate.
Near this point a deverticulum may have joined the Via Praenestina,
coming due N. from the Labicana and passing under the great arches
■ Said 10 be in the Palaiio Casali.
Classical Topography of the Roman Campagna. — I. 163
of the Aqua Alexandrina, which shortly become visible to the right, cross-
ing the Fosso di Centocelle. I have only been able, however, to trace
the existence of a road by finding two tombs and some paving stones near
the aqueduct ; its continuation to the Praenestina (if it ever had any ; Nibby
and Gell mark it as running only for a little over half a mile from the
point where it leaves the Labicana) has been obliterated. No traces of it>
or of any other ancient road, were found during the construction of the
fort.
About si kilometres from Rome, a few hundred yards to the right,
are the remains of an extensive villa. The most conspicuous part is a
square building, standing upon a lofty base, and apparently octagonal
inside, constructed of opus mixtum (/>. of courses of bricks and of small
cubes of tufa alternately) with a binding course of tiles at the interval of
1*28 metres. Below it in the valley are extensive remains of floors of opus
spicatum (herring-bone brickwork) and signinum, the former having the
following section (from top to bottom) :
opus spicatum, '05 m.
fine layer of cement, 'i m.
rough cement (" coccia pista "), with fragments of brick or tile, "085 m.
grey pozzolana and tufa concrete : uncertain.
Just before reaching the sixth kilometre stone there are some remains
of tombs on the left of the road. Here a fragment of a large sarcophagus,
similar to one in the Cortile del Belvedere in the Vatican, called " sarcofago
proconsolare " (Visconti, Museo Fio Clementino^ V. tav. xxxi. p. 185 of
the Milan edition), was discovered in 1888 {BiilL Com, p. 266, Not, Scav.
p. S07).
On the left, extending as far as the Via Collatina, lies the Tenuta di
Tor Sapienza (so called from the fact that it belongs to the " Sapienza "
(/>. CoUegio) Capranica). Besides the inscriptions, &c. found by Vescovali
in 1 8 19 three miles from Rome near the road (cf. p. 162), and the objects
discovered by him in 1830 in the same locality, excavations conducted by
Fortunati in 1861 produced an enormous number of inscriptions, almost
all of them sepulchral. A list (not complete nor quite accurate) may be
found in the " index locorum recentiorum " at the end of Vol. xiv. of
the Corpus Inscriptionum, The remains close to Tor Sapienza itself are
quite insignificant.
M 2
i64 The British School at Rome.
At Torre di Tre Teste the line of tombs continues on each side of the
road, though in most cases the foundations alone remain. The tower
takes its name from a much damaged sepulchral relief with three portrait
heads which ts built into the little chapel. Stevenson (MS. cit.) makes
the head on the (spectator's) right to be that of a woman, with the
inscription PO//////A beneath it ; the other two being men's heads, and
the names illegible. Not far off he saw another similar relief with two female
heads and one male, but without any inscription. This latter still
exists in the garden of the casale (now an osteria), a little way to the W.
This casale is partly built on ancient foundations, which can still be seen
level with the ground on its E. side. Nibby {Ana/isi, iii. 249) saw various
architectural and other fragments there. The ancient road seems to have
run just to the N. of the modern at this point. In the Tenuta di Tre
Teste a mosaic pavement was found in December 1777, of which an
engraving exists in the library of the German Archaeological Institute
(Mau, Kata/og- der Bibliothek, i. 296). In the circle in the centre is
Europa riding on the bull, in four subsidiary semi-circles Tritons, Nereids,
sea-monsters, and floral patterns : these are separated by elaborate borders.
In the same tenuta, C.l.L. vi. 15786 was found in 1728, and another
sepulchral inscription and a bust in iiS39 {Bull. Inst. 1832, 3).
Just before the bridge, Nibby (Ana/isi, i. 214) mentions a deverticulum
following the right bank of the stream to the Via Collatina. The bridge
over the Fosso di Tre Teste has two or three of the tufa blocks of the
ancient bridge still in situ. Just beyond the bridge stood the sixth mile-
stone of the ancient road. The road-cutting ascending from the stream
is probably ancient ; in it are various traces of tombs, and the remains of a
villa may be seen on the north at the foot of the hill. The road divei^ing
northwards at the top of the hill to the Via Collatina does not appear to
be ancient, though, according to Frontinus {De Aguis, i. S),the road leading
to the springs of the Aqua Appia Augtista left the Via Praenestina near
the sixth milestone, the springs of the aqueduct lying 980 paces to the left,
close to the Via Collatina.
Just beyond the eighth kilometre stone aie some very interesting
remains of a villa and of its system of water supply. The place bears the
name of " Muraccio dell' Uomo,"
Near the road is the entrance to a long tunnel cut in the tufa rock,
descending steeply N.E. for thirty or forty feet, after which a circular
Classical Topography of the Roman Campagna. — I. 165
chamber, 6*45 m. in diameter, and lined with cement, is reached : beyond
this the tunnel continues and water soon begins to appear, while another
tunnel branches off from it to the S.E. The water in the main tunnel was,
we were told, one m^tre deep, and there was a footway on each side. The
water was clear and pure, and apparently fed by strong springs ; for it
was said that it was never exhausted, though its level sometimes changed.
These underground cisterns provided the water supply for the villa
above. Between the entrance to them and the road a bathroom, with
marble wall lining and mosaic pavement, had been discovered and de-
stroyed. Various tombs had also been found near the road, and had met
with a similar fate.
The farmhouse itself rests upon ancient foundations of red tufa concrete,
orientated N.E. by S.W. A few yards N. of it is a mound, under which
are the remains of another part of the villa. The mound has not been by
any means completely excavated, and the chambers accessible belong
entirely to the basement. The first which is entered is constructed of
small blocks of tufa about 20 centimetres long by 6 to 8 high, with thick
layers of mortar between. This mode of construction, if met with in
Rome, would be assigned to the fourth century A.D. at the earliest, though
it occurs at Hadrian's Villa,^ and in other villas of the Campagna, where
its close conjunction with opus reticulatum places it of necessity in the
second century. It has, further, recently been found in some passages
under the area of the Forum Romanum, which probably belong to-
Republican times (see Classical Review, 1902, 94). Below this is a hypo-
caust, the floor of which is composed of concrete resting upon Ugulae
bipedales. I found below the floor the rare stamp CJ.L, xv. 402, belong-
ing to the time of Commodus : other stamped bricks were said to have
been found and destroyed. The floor is supported by hollow terra-cotta
socket pipes, each, not counting the socket, 32 cm. long ; at least three were
placed one above the other (the space below the floor is not completely
cleared out) : sometimes the top one is reversed, so that the socket does
not fit into the pipe below, and there is often a small piece of brick
between the pipe and the floor of tiles. The chamber measures 2*92 m.
by 3'S3 m., and there are six rows of supports one way and seven the
other. In the course of the excavations a dolium and several rough
household pots were found.
^ See Winnefeld, Jahrbuch des Instiiuts, Erganzungsheft iii. p. 26 stpj.
l66
The British School at Rome.
t
The district between the Viae Praenestina and Labicana was here
traversed by an ancient road, the first part of which is in all probabilit]^'
represented by the modern Vicolo del Pigneto (p. 152), though I have no^
after careful investigation, been able to find the connecting links. After
the end of the prolongation eastwards of the Vicolo dei Carbonari
there are no certain traces of the road (though its line may be assumed
with some degree of probability, coinciding as it does with a boundary line
for some way, until it crosses the Fosso di Centocelle) until, just to the N,
of the Muraccio di Rischiaro, we reach a cutting made for it, which seems
certainly ancient. There are some loose paving stones about, and this
tower itself is full of fragments of them and of pieces of marble. Two ofj
the latter bear a few letters of a sepulchral inscription:
TRATV
PHI
[tirdiym/u .
. I F/ii .
To the N. of the cutting are the remains of a church, which runs parallel
with the road, built apparently upon an earlier building in opus quadratum.
p'urthcr \V., on the S, of the line of the road, is a mass of tufa which has
been cut square {about 2"io m, each side) which may have served to sup-
port a sepulchral cippus.
On the E. of the P'osso di Tre Teste are the remains of two water
reservoirs (both single chambers, constructed in opus reticulatum, with
buttresses) and of the villas which they supplied. On a brickstamp (lunate)
which I found here I could only read
OPDOLEX////
//INF////
///////
It seems to have belonged to the second century. A few paving stones
belonging to the road occur among these ruins. Its pavement is said
to have been found in the fields about a kilometre to the south of
Muraccio dell' Uomo, and the cutting made for it through the hill
appears unmistakably on the W. of the Fosso di Tor di Bella Monaca.
Possibly also the tomb at point 54 to the N. of the aqueduct lies on its
Classical TopOGRArHv of the Roman Campagna, — I. 167
course. In the stream itself the pavement of the road may still be seen
running due eastwards. It lies at about 2 m. below the modern ground
level, and is in very good preservation and of good period. About two
yards from it are some traces of a (presumably) mediaeval bridge.
The pavement itself is 3T3 metres wide, the tufa crepido on each side is
51 cm. wide. The selce blocks of the pavement are bedded on tufa (Fig,
2). On the opposite side of the stream the cutting made for it is again
visible, and a few paving stones lie in it : at the next ditch one or two
paving blocks remain — the rest has been washed away. After this it
passes through another cutting, above which I found lying on the ground
part of a marble weight (the shape of a curling stone) with the mark of
attachment for the metal handle, a Up of a dolium, and part of a marble
plinth ; unmistakable signs of some habitation. It then runs along the
top of the hill, and descends to the Fosso di Tor Agnola. Here Fabretti
(^De Aqnis et AquaeductibiisX>\^'i. i. tab. i.) marks a bridge in opus quadralum,
which he attributes to the Aqua Alexandrina. This bridge has dis-
appeared, but in the W. bank of the stream is the brick-built speciis of the
aqueduct, 90 cm. wide with rounded top, running in a S.E. direction. The
The British School at Rome.
bridge therefore must have belonged to -the road, and not to the
aqueduct, which ran, perhaps, under the stream bed in Roman times.
Beyond this point Fabrctti marlvs 5 putei (inspection shafts) and remains
of three more ; and. following the cutting of the road through the next
hill, we soon reach two of them, almost precisely 240 feet apart (which is
the interval regularly observed) measuring 82 x 70 cm, inside: on the
N. side are footholes 64 cm. apart After this point the aqueduct, and
probably the road as well, go off S.E. towards the Torraccio di S. Antonio ;
they arc soon crossed by an ancient road running from the Osteria dell'
Osa to the Via Labicana, which it reached a little beyond the eighth
mile (sec p, 176).
Returning to the Via Praeneslina, we find distinct traces of the cutting
made for it through the rock at the ninth kilometre. On the right, on the
edge of the cliff, are remains of a villa in opus reticulatura. At Tor
Angela, which lies just on the line of the Aqua Alexandrina, and above
the last conspicuous series of arches before I'anlano (where its springs are)
is reached, there arc two sculptured marble bases, neither, however, with an ^
inscription. One, the lower part of which only is presen-ed, measuring
S9 cm. across the front X 47 cm. thick, bears a relief of a group of wolves ;
to the right a male, to the left a female with three cubs under her. There
is also a marble capital, and many selce paving stones.' After crossing
the stream called the Fosso di Tor di Bella Monaca, the road ascends
again. For about a hundred yards of the ascent the cutting of the ancient
road is traceable at a few yards distance to the S. of the modem one,
which cuts through the tombs along its N. side ; but about half-way up the
hill it turns sharply, and they coincide once more.
On the left of. the road between the ninth and tenth kilometres are
various unimportant remains, some of late date, others foundations of
tombs along the road itself. The ancient cutting is again traceable just
•fter the tenth kilometre.
On the S. side of the road here, close to the Casale Tor Angela, is a
brick tomb of two chambers, sunk so that the crown of the arches is just
at the ground le\el. The second chamber, which is square, with three
lai^^ oblong niches, was probably open in the centre. The barrel vaulting
of the niches is vcrj- fineh- decorated with stucco ornamentation, arranged
£ ihe ducovcrj' of a iat s
x>phagus Deal Toi
Classical Topography of the Roman Campagna. — I. 169
in hexagons and half hexagons. In the hexagons are sometimes oblong
tablets. Within the large niches are smaller ones, plain, and quite low
(see plan, Fig. 3).
Above the door of the Casale itself is a fragment of a relief apparently
representing a battle of the Amazons. In the centre is a male torso, to
•
<r— -^>
\ '
\ '
• \ /
i ^
1 ' ^
' ' 1
9 ^
1
! ^ /
. \ 1
» /
» /
\ /
\/
A
» »
;
/ \
^^^
m
•
V /
\ /
\ /
\ /
1 \
/ \
/ \
/ \
1
2
J.
5 Metres
Fig. 3. — Plan of Tomb near* Casale tor Angela.
•
the left a female draped figure falling, on the right a third on horseback.
The workmanship is good, though the relief itself is much damaged.
The fountain E. of the Casale, in the side of the hill, which bears the
name of Fontanile della Mezzaluna from its shape, is fed by two ancient
cuniculi^ or channels cut in the rock, r8o m. high and 50 cm. wide. A fine
female head in marble, in a decorative style, representing some divinity, is
built into the fountain. Another fountain further E., on the right bank of
the Fosso di Tor Agnola, is also supplied from an ancient cuniculus which
leads apparently to extensive cuttings in the rock.
I70 The Bkitish School at Rome.
On the left of the road, a little way before the eleventh kilometre is
reached, is a large tomb — a circular mound, within which is a round
chamber approached by a passage in opus reticulatum. There are also
several brick fragments about, one of which bears the rectangular stamp
(unpublished hitherto)
j I SVAVISGPiMET I
I ^i TETTIAESEF '
The whole stamp measures only '069 m. X 021 m., and is remarkably
small.
On the right of the road, about halfway up the hill, a late tomb formed
of tiles, one of which bore the stamp C.I.L. xv. 1464/7, was discovered in
March 1900. On the top of the hitl, and to the S. of the eleventh kilometre
stone, are traces of a large villa.
In Noi. Scav. 1SS3, 170 is recorded the disco\-ery, 200 m. beyond the
eleventh kilometre, and 60 m. from the edge of the road on the N'. side, of an
ancient press for oil or wine, consisting of two huge blocks 210X 220 m.,
with a double concentric circular channel and another for an outlet, and
two troughs of sarcophagus shape 2 m. long by 35 cm. wide. The whole
apparatus had been dcstro_\cd in ancient times, for the two large blocks
had been turned upside down and a pavement of opus spicatum built
upon them.
About 200 m. further on the same side, close to the road, is a water
reservoir 01 piscina, consisting of a single chamber loj by 4} paces inside,
lined with hard cement, strengthened on the outside by buttresses at each
angle and in the centre of each wall. It is constructed of blocks of tufa,
of the size and shape of modern bricks, with two bands of five baked
bricks each running right through, one no m. above ground, the
other I -30 m. above that. Further from the road are the remains of a
mediaeval structure on an ancient site.
On the opposite side of the road, in a field, a large white marble cornice,
which still lies there, was recently found. The breadth of the block is (not
including the cornice) 62 cm., its present length (part was broken off in
attempting to lift it) 136 m. The depth of the cornice at the top is
31 cm.
Further S.E. (almost due S. of the twelfth kilometre stone) is a lai^e
Classical TopoGRAPny oi-" the Roman Campagna. — I. i/i
piscina, single chambered, of setce concrete, without buttresses, which,
owing to the strength of the selce concrete, arc not required, but with its
walls becoming slightly thinner after about six feet above ground.
To the S. of this are remains of a villa rustica in opus quadratum of
tufa ; in one place is a floor, for a wine or oil press perhaps, formed of three
blocks of tufa placed side by side, with a slightly raised edge round tliem.
The excavations made by Niccola la Piccola in 1775 in the Tenuta di
Salone, quarto di Prato Bagnato, on the right of the road, resulted in the dis-
covery of the Aphrodite of the Gabinetto delle Maschere in the Vatican
(Visconti, Mus. Ph. Clem. i. 10, Helbig, Fiihrer^ i. no. 358) and of the fol-
lowing inscriptions, C.I.L. vi. 325, 1607, S972, {Bull. Inst. 1853, p. 49), 99S4.
Just before the tivelfth kilometre stone stands the eighth mile-
stone of the modern road, erected by Innocent XIII. This corresponds
fairly exactly to the ninth mile of the ancient road : the bridge over the
ravine just beyond is therefore called Ponte di Nona. It is by far the
finest road bridge in the neighbourhood of Rome. Rossini {Anticftild
Romaite, vol. ii.) gives a very fine view of the north side, which is also
shown in Fig. 4. Canina {Edifizi, v, 90, vi. tav. 108) gives plans from
172
The British School at Rome.
measurements taken when it was restored under his own direction. See
also Nibby, Analisi, ii. 590.' The total length is about 72 in., the greatest
height 16 m. There are seven arches, each with a span of about 6 m. The
whole bridge is slightly askew. The roadway, the pavement of which,
perfect irf Nibby 's time, has now been removed, was 625 m. wide ; the
width of the bridge at the top is io'20 ra. The thickness of the
piers of the four central arches diminishes gradually towards the top : this
is especially noticeable on the N. side. The whole bridge is faced with
lapis Gabinus (sperone) e>:cept the bridge heads, which are constructed of
red tufa quarried very likely on the spot. There are traces of quarrying
at the E. end of the bridge, and along the E. side of the valley to the
S. The keystones of the arches are of travertine. The core of the
bridge is of concrete. Projecting corbels have been placed at the spring
of the arches to facilitate repairs.
The central arch encloses a smaller one, of the same span, but only
4'50 m. in height. This was the earlier single arched bridge ; all that was
really needed for the passage of the stream. Later on, however, in order
to obviate the necessity of descending into the valley and ascending again
on the otiier side, the splendid viaduct, which stiil carries the road at a
high level above the ravine, was constructed.
The magnificence of the bridge seems to indicate that the district to
which it immediately leads was in Roman times of a certain importance.
This conjecture is to some extent borne out by the ancient remains
described in the following section.
The fountain half a mile to the N, of the bridge in the valley has
close to it an ancient rock-cut channel, either a drain or for water supply,
two feet wide. Further along the valley, on the hill on the E. side, are
the scanty remains of a villa.
IV. — From Pokte di Nona to Osteria dell' Osa
(from the Ninth to the Eleventh Milestone).
On the hill just beyond the bridge, on the N. side of the road, are
some foundations of large blocks of tufa, in a line running N.E. by E : a
little further E. are two more large blocks, and further again, on the N.E,
slope of the hill, above a small valley which falls into the larger ravine of
k
Classical ToPOCRAriiv of thk Roman Campagna.— I. 173
the Fosso di Pontc di Nona, there is a large deposit of votive objects in
terra-cotta. They have been much destroyed by the ploughing up of the
field, but we found many fairly perfect specimens of almost all parts of
the human body — though not of the internal organs — faces, hands, feet,
legs, bodies, eyes (in the form of small flat discs with a representation of
the eye on the upper side), two specimens of the membrum virile, and
fragments of drapery belonging to complete figures. In some cases the
terra-cottas still show traces of colour, The representation is, as a rule.
more or less life-size, though parts of statuettes also occur. We also
found some small figures of cows and
horses. These votive objects are similar
to those which occur in the well-known
deposit at Veli (Lanciani, Pagan and
Christian Rome, p, 64; Not. Scavi, 1889,
pp. 30, 63) and are fairly well executed.
We also found many fragments of
black gta7.ed Etrusco-Campanian pot-
tery, one of which has part of a seated
draped figure in relief, holding a staff,
and a few letters of an inscription upon
it. It seems to read («)AIVIOS or
ALVIOS (Fig. 5).
This fragment was submitted to
Professor Pasqui, of the Government
Department of Antiquities, who attri-
buted it to the period 250-200 K,c\
Another (the bottom of a vessel) has three rosettes and a T in relief
stamped upon it. with another character (a T ?) scratched on the outside.
A third fragment has a decorative pattern painted in ochre upon the
glaze. The presence of this extensive deposit of ex-volos points unmis-
takably to the existence of a temple on this hill, occupying a con.spicuous
position above the great bridge. The ex-votos were hung up on the wails
of the ceila of the temple, precisely as votive hearts, &c., are hung up in
Italian churches at the present day ; and, when there was no more space
for new ofierings, the old were removed to make way for them, and thrown
outside the temple.
The tufa foundations described may well be connected with the temple
174
Tiii; Bkitish School at Rome.
itself, but nothing can be determined on this point without an excavation
of the site.
To the S.E. of this deposit of ex-votos are more worked stone blocks
lying in the field, one of which is the half of an altar of the primitive type
exemplified in the altars of Verminus (Bull. Com. 1876, 34, Lanciani,
Ancient Rome, p. 52) and of Veiovis {C.I.L. xiv. 3387, found at Bovillae in
1826), the top measuring OSQS by 0765 m.'
On the south side of this hill, overlooking the road, there is a regular
necropolis of tombs in opus quadratum and brickwork. Among the bricks
I found the stamps C.I.L. xv. 188, 653 (of 123-141 a.D.) and another j
(fragmentary) of 134 A.D. on a roof-tile. The presence of a considerable 1
amount of painted piaster and marble mosaic cubes may point to the ]
existence of a villa here also.
Still on the N. side of tlie modern road, ju.st at the thirteenth kilometre
stone, is a large group of tombs in opus quadratum of tufa and peperiuo.
They fall into two lines, between which, just N. of its present course, the
road ran.^ Most of them are small chambers 3 or 4 metres square: some-
times two are placed side by side. At the \V. end of the group is one,
. formed of a mass of concrete faced with blocks of peperino, the ends of
which tail into the concrete mass. At the E. end of the group is an
ustrinum about 20 metres square, which, in so far as its plan goes, is
perfect. Several of the coping blocks of its ringwall, rounded at the top.
lie about. The whole necropolis will probably soon fall a prey to the
destruction caused by the cultivation of the fields.
After passing the ustrinum the pavement of the ancient road is seen
crossing a ditch, still to the N. of the modern road. On each side
blocks of tufa about 2 feet in thickness, which seem to be the crepidints or
kerbstones, still exist, and give the width of the road as 9'20 m. (?), no less
than double its width further on. About 200 yards further is another large
group of tombs in opus quadratum, between which the road ran. It soon,
however, falls into the present line again, as shortly before reaching the
fourteenth kilometre five small tombs in opus quadratum are seen just on
the S. side of the present line. Some 500 yards S. of these is a tomb mound
and many paving stones, belonging to the road mentioned on p. 176.
' Other examples of alUrs of this lype are me
' ll is in my opinion quile certain thai the a.\
li Nona, no! curvin^i 3^ the modern road does, ro
lioncd in Ball. Ccm. 1897, 164,
-ient road ascended almost straight from
nd the hill at the E. end of the bridge.
V
Classical Topography of the Roman Campagna. — I. 175
Opposite to these tombs a track runs off N.N.W. About 250 yards after
it leaves the highroad, an ancient road, the pavement of which can be
clearly distinguished (the width is not more than 360 m.), diverges from it
N.E. by N. and runs for three or four hundred yards up to a large
" capanna " (shepherds* hut). Here it suddenly disappears, and there are
no further traces of paving stones, or even of the agger of the road,
except two tufa blocks running N. and S. just behind the capanna, which
may possibly belong to one of its crepidines.
The main track, however, continues in its former direction and soon
reaches a bank, along which it runs : and, as the bank contains many
paving stones, some apparently in situ^ it seems clear that this too is an
ancient road. The ruin some way to the W. is a water reservoir in selce
concrete, without buttresses, measuring roughly 40 by 20 feet. This line
after about 1200 m. from the highroad falls into that of a modern field-wall,
which is, however, full of ancient paving stones : and it is noteworthy that
in the Campagna the modern boundaries are frequently neither more nor
less than the lines of ancient roads, all traces of which would otherwise
have perished. The road probably continued along this line for some way,
and then descended into the valley to the W. of it, somewhere opposite
the Casale Benzone : the precise point is doubtful, for paving stones and
fragments of brick lie all about on the slope of the hill. To the N.E.
of and below the Casale is the meeting point of another road with the Via
Collatina, into which this one, coming along the valley, would fall (p. 145).
Somewhere in this district, we are told, " in the tenuta of Tor Sapienza,
about two miles from Gabii " — on the N. side of the road, therefore, and
about ten miles from Rome, was found the bust of Geta, published by
Guattani, Memorie enciclopediche per Vantio 18 17, p. 129, tav. xx.
Returning to the highroad, almost due S. of the fourteenth kilometre
stone is a large tomb mound, with fragments of marble scattered about it.
The ancient road is at this point again slightly to the N. of the modem, as
is shown, not only by the position of the tombs, but by the presence of
paving stones and of the agger of the road itself.
At this point, just to the W. of a villa by the high road, another road
must have diverged almost due N. ; for at a distance of about 130 yards there
are two tombs in opus quadratum, one of which measures 370 m. square
inside, the blocks that form its walls being 59 cm. thick. The base
moulding is still well preserved. Lying loose in the field is a tombstone of
176 The British School at Rome.
the type which appears in the cemetery of the Legio 11. Parthica at
Albano, and is not uncommon in the Campagjna. It is about six feet in
length and two in height and width, rounded at the top, with a tablet on
one side for the inscription. Further on are some heaps of paving stones
extracted from the spot in the course of ploughing, and other remains of
tombs, among which is a large gutter cut in three blocks of tufa 62 cm.
wide, and having a total length of 4*35 m. The gutter, which is 30 cm.
wide, turns at right angles at each end : probably it ran round the outside
of one of these small square tombs. After this point the road disappears.
It is pointing straight for the capanna behind which the road mentioned on
p. 175 above is lost.
Close to the highroad, on the N., about 300 m. further on, is a brick
tomb in two stories ; the lower chamber is square, and has a cinerary urn
(like that of a columbarium) placed under the spring of each arch of the
vaulting of the side niches, so that in each comer pillar there are two urns
built into the brickwork. Just after the fifteenth kilomfetre the modem road
descends steeply in a curve. The ancient road follow^ed a straight course.
The Osteria dell* Osa marks the most important meeting point of by-
roads along the whole course of the Via Praenestina. There are, in the first
place, two deverticula coming from the Via Labicana. The first, as already
stated ^p. i6S^. leaves it a little beyond the eighth mile and runs almost
straii;ht in a N.K. direction to the OsiL That this road is ancient is shown
by its directness of line, by the cuttings which take it through the hills, by
the paving stones which exist ^though not ;>: s:iU^ along its course, and by
the remains of ancient buildings which lie along it. Fabretti {Dc Aquis ct
A^iUsieduK'tibus , Diss. i. tab. i.^ apparently intends to indicate this road when
he marks " Via Vetus * to the SAW of the Osteria delT Osa, without
i:iviiv^ its direction.
The second roaJ. is a continuation of the Via Cavona, the modern name
of the road consinicttx: by M. Valerius Messala Corvinus in order to
taci'.itate Cv^mmur.ication boiueen the Via Aoi^ia which it leaves at the
i.'^stCTM o!c!!o Fiattochio. ;us: be'.ow Ivni'.'.ae ar.cl the roads to the N.E. of
v,f rri-^r.'.liis. i. *. ;~: .v.* .'.;.■,•.;•:; v.v:. -Vi'v.'.: : ;..v j':*.:;^; Tusciila ttlhis,
%.« ...•.«.«.,«.. .. «>«. ... .«.«. ««« A*...' ... .. 1% V..v^ r^^ . ^*.v. V..A &.^«<X W i i 1 1.x CL L L i i ^
»v -.».; .v..\. .V ..% V ,v . »..v V .v>«v,v V. .,v — V ».»»^ > .«A 1 .-.>^-0»«.l4ia ai LIlL
I, >•«• X \ x,.»\. ...X -, ••»..* "V** ■'" ^ '* .* x.'.«,»».-..x - X- ••• -• ^v-x.-^ ■» ^ ■».j>«-» •■ • ,"^ r« ro C'Ttl tnp
lVv.*\ \\,....s...v. ».^»..N..v.N. .,S.x......v-.>.v>.«>> «>^X ^ wV^V. x^..% X.L' 1 I cL>V.clLl. LI It
..» I ,\ x .V x\. .x\ xv . . . .v. w .v\ ^x \v..x. ..V vx". ..-.,.,. ..^> v.. c*x-/-v.,.i\^u>, anu lilt
Classical Topography of the Roman Campagna.— I.
177
modern Via Casili'na at the Osteria del Finocchio. So far it has been an
important artery of communication, as is indicated by the number of
ancient roads joining and diverging from it, and by the large quantity of
villas and water reservoirs that are to be seen on each side of it. Between
the Osteria de! Finocchio and the Osteria dell' Osa, however, where the
road runs nearly due N., there is not a single trace of antiquity, whereas
the previous part of the road had preserved much of its pavement intact
until a few years ago, and the stones may even now be seen built into the
walls on each side. It is impossible to believe, however, that the road did
not go beyond the Osteria del Finocchio, especially as at the Osa we find
its direction continued by two other roads, one on each side of the Osa
valley. The absence of any traces of antiquity is at the best a merely
negative argument, and, in view of the continual destruction of ancient
monuments, not a very strong one. It may be noted that Fabretti (/. c),
Ameti, and Cingolani mark the road as ancient.
A third ancient road ran above the W. bank of the Osa stream, following
the line of a modern track, and passing two or three villas, to Collatia
(p. 146). Whether it ever crossed the Anio to join the Via Tiburtina is
doubtful. Another far more ancient road ran along the E. bank of the
Osa to Collatia also (p. 149)-
A fifth ancient road is that now represented by the modern Via di
Poli, which runs to Le Cappannellc below CorcoHe, another important
road centre of this district, A tomb may be traced on its VV. edge just
beyond the seventeenth kilometre. In Noi. Scav. 18S5, 426, traces of
ancient pavement are spoken of as existing at the nineteenth kilometre;
they had been noticed long before by Nibby • {Sckede, iii. 28), but are now
no longer visible. Close to the Casale Granaraccio, two kilometres
further on, are the remains of a tomb, and in the cutting before the descent
to Le Cappannelle, which has been widened and deepened in modern
times, there are on the left several paving stones certainly in situ and
traces of tombs also, so that the antiquity of the road cannot be doubted.
About a mile almost due N. of the seventeenth kilometre stone on this
road, by a "capanna" at a point marked 72 m. above sea-level on the
staff map (sheet marked Colonna i : 25,000), there has recently been
discovered a remarkable grotto excavated in the rock. A short descrip-
' The lelerencc Is lo r quanlity of MS. notes, containing Nibby's diaries of eicursions in ihe
Cunpagna. whidi 1 pmchascd at the sale of the library of Count Virginia Vespigiianl in 1900.
lyS The British School at Rome.
tion of it has been given by Lanciani in BulL Com., 1899, 40.' Above
ground are the scanty remains of an extensive villa. Descending through
a lightholc by a ladder, a long lofty passage, about 3 feet wide and
quite 20 feet high, is entered ; the floor of it descends steeply (the
flight of steps which probably exists is covered with debris) and the roof,
which is formed by the rock itself, except at the upper end, where the
passage is covered by converging tiles, drops in level at intervals to corre-
spond. The ancient entrance cannot have been far beyond the lighthole,
as on one side of the passage there is a cutting in the rock for a door (?),
while the other side begins to be formed by brickwork. .At present the
passage descends in a N'.VV. by N. direction for 20 m,, and then suddenly
decreases to rSo m. in height. Above the opening is a painting about
60 cm. wide by 1-30 m. high, on a white ground (Fig. 6). Hercules is
represented seated upon his lionskin on a rock with his club by his left
side, and a cup in his right hand. Ke is nude, with blue drapery lying
over his thighs, and crowned with a gariand, and his skin is represented as
much bronzed. He seems to be offering the cup to a Cupid higher up on
the left, crowned with flowers, with blue draperies flying behind him and
bearing a wreath. Immediately above Hercules is a winged Victory, with
an upper garment of blue, and an under garment of brown, also crowned
with flowers, and holding a garland in front of her with both hands.
Above is an eight-pointed star, black and yellow.* The painting is in
fairly good, free style ; the field is surrounded by a black line. The
surface of the rock is very uneven, and has not been smoothed before being
stuccoed.
Over the arch itself are traces of painting. Beyond this picture the
passage (which has quite recently been cleared out) continues for 41 m^
with a height of about rSo and a width of about o-go, and then ends
abruptly. The grotto must be the shrine of some secret worship, or at
least of some cult practised by preference underground. The prevalence
of such cults in this district is illustrated by the following funeral inscrip-
tion, which 1 copied near the Osteria del!' Osa (published in Bull. Com.
1899, 41 from my copy). It is cut on a slab of white marble 35 X45 X3
cm. The letters are 35 mm. high in the first three lines, 25 in the last four,
> See also ihe same author's Anf Talts ef Old Rome, p. 19a.
> This star is not shown in ihe engTaving, as il did not appear ID the photographs from nhich
The British School at Rome.
and their style is that of the second or third century. It had, howevei^l
been used in a later burial, and was placed, with the letters downward^!
under the head of a corpse. The letters themselves are still filled with |
cement.
■D- 4> -M-
VERVS SACERDOS
LIBERI PATRIS-ITEM-SOLIS IN
VICTI-DOiMVM AETERNAM-
BAEBIAE-BERAE MATRI ET-BAEBIAE
su: TROFIMENI SORORI -ET-PACCIAE SAL
sic SAL-VISTIAE CONIVGI'SE VIVO SVIS
sic ET POSTERISQVE AEORVM- FECIT-
Between Ponte di Nona and the Osteria dell' Osa (no further details
are given) was found an altar dedicated to Hercules (C./.L. xiv. 2789 = vi,
341), and a fragment of a slab bearing a dedication to a deity whose name
has perished {C./.L. xiv. 2792).
V. — Gabii and its Neighbourhood.
Just after the Osteria dell' Osa the ancient Via Praenestina leaves the
modern carriage road (which, as has been said, follows the line of an
ancient one) on the left. In Noi. Scavi, 1889, 83, a description is given
of the discoveries made when the drainage channel of the (now dry) lake
of Gabii was enlarged. At a distance of 64-60 m. from the bridge of the
modern road over this small stream, and at a depth of 4*50 m. below the
present surface of the ground, was found a tree trunk 3 m. long by 85 cm.
wide, hollowed out and used as a sarcophagus (now preserved in the
Museum of the Villa Papa Giulio). Within were the remains of the
skeleton, and some traces of ivory and amber. The tree trunk was placed
in a rectangular ditch cut in the rock, only about half as deep as the diameter
of the tree trunk, and leaving a space 25 cm, wide at the sides, and 80 cm.
wide at the end where the feet of the dead man lay. In the space at the
end various pieces of ancient hand-made bucchero, two Chalcidic vases
with faint geometric ornamentation, and a bronze cup were found. Some
of the pieces of bucchero resembled those of the most ancient portion of
Classical Topography of the Roman Campagna.— I. i8i
the Esquiline necropolis, and of the tombs " a fossa " of the Fah'scan ceme-
teries. There was also a large amphora of whitish earth, certainly not of
local workmanship. The pottery and the tree trunk were covered with
fine earth, and then with stones to the depth of 80 cm.
Twenty-one mfetres further from the modem road the ancient Via
Praenestina appeared, its section being found in the cutting. Its precise
direction is, unfortunately, not specified in this account, but clearly it must
have made a fairly sharp turn here.^ For, 180 metres further up the over-
flow channel of the lake, on its N.E. bank, where it emerges from a rock-
cut tunnel, there is visible a wall of two courses of two-foot blocks of tufa, run-
ning, for a length of 15 m. at the least, 40° E of S. This is, apparently,
the supporting wall of the road on its S.W. side. Shortly afterwards, about
100 yards from the Casetta del Pescatore, the N. margo of the ancient road
begins to appear in the modern mule path, running 7"" S. of E.; after 70
paces the road turns S.E. by E. and continues to run in this direction past
the Casetta del Pescatore, where the basin of the Lake of Gabii first comes
into view. Here the pavement is 4*30 m. (14 J feet) wide between the
crepidineSy which are of oblong blocks of selce with round masses at
intervals of from 3*50 to 4 m. The reasons for these sharp turns in the
ancient road cannot be determined with certainty. It is possible that
they were due to a desire to cross the Osa stream at right angles and to the
difficulties of dealing with the emissarium of the lake.
As to the antiquity of the lake itself there is considerable controversy.
It is mentioned by no classical author, and is first alluded to in the Acts
of St. Primitivus {Acta SS. Jun. T. ii. 148). Kircher supposed it to be Lake
Regillus, but this is, for many reasons, impossible (see Rendiconti deW Ace,
dei Linceiy 1898, pp. 114, 115, Classical Review ^ 1898,470). Canina {Edifizi,
V. p. 91 note 10) states that, in the excavation of a new emissarium under
his supervision in 1838 ^ traces of the ancient one were discovered, which
proved that in ancient times no lake was allowed to exist ; only in the
Middle Ages, when the emissarium became choked, was the centre of the
basin converted into a lake. Further, he remarks that the baths of Gabii
' In January 1902 I was able, after a good deal of rain had fallen, to find the point at which
the Via Praenestina crosses the Osa stream itself, a little way further W. This is 67*80 m. to the
S. of the bridge of the modern highroad, but there are no indications of the existence of a bridge on
the ancient road, and the course of the stream has very likely changed. One or two pavingstones
are to be seen in each bank of the stream, and remains of tombs on the S. side of the road. It was
apparently running lo"* S. of £.
* Cf. Ann. Inst, 1840, 33.
l83 The British School at Rome.
could never have become celebrated had the stagnant lake been there to
spread unheal thiness,' Fea (Gabio, p. 25) on the other hand, is inclined to
suppose that the baths were taken in the lake itself. Neither of the argu-
ments adduced by Canina is sufficient to prove his point ; for the emis-
sarium may perfectly well have served to keep the water of the lake at a
certain level without necessarily being intended to exhaust it altogether :
in fact, as the lake was certainly fed by springs, which are atill in
existence, it must have been necessary to provide an overflow channel.
But without further particulars it is not easy to judge what is the value of
his opinion. The basin itself is clearly an extinct crater. Kiepcrt, in hb
map of Latium, calls it "lacus novicius," relying presumably on Canina.
After the Casa del Pescatore, on the right, is a square tomb of rough
opus incertum on a brick base 430 m. wide. Near the spring of the barrel
vault of the interior are four small niches 29 cm. wide with a small semi-
circular arch above each. Shortly after passing it is seen the line of the
deverticulum mentioned by Fea {Gabh, p. 10)* as diverging at this point,
and running across the plain of I'antano to join the Via Labicana : in his
time it was partly paved, but now all traces of pavement have disappeared,
though its line may be clearly seen in the field. A little way beyond again
is a mound (point 88 on the map) which may have been a tomb (Nibby,
Analisi ii. 83}, but is more likd\- to be a heap of quarry rubbish.
The road now skirts the S, bank of the lake running upon a shelf cut
in the rock (sperone), and soon passes below the famous temple (Fig. 7),
which, on the strength of Virgil's {Aen. vii. 682) arva Gabinac lutttmis (i:X.
Sil. Ital. xii. 537: lunonis tecta Gabinae), has generally been called the
temple of Juno, though Canina ^ prefers to attribute it to Apollo, quoting
Livy xli. 16 : Gabiis aedem Apollinis ei privata aedificia complura . . . .de
caelo facta, and remarking also that it faces E. (really S.E.)' It was
peripteral, without portico (according to Canina). As to the style of the
columns there is considerable question, Canina follows Ciampini {^Vttera
Monutnenta, i. p. 4 tab, i.) who saj-s : sicuti €t ante ingressum duos columnas
ordinis Corintkii ex illorum fragmentis, quae in proximo reperta sunt, olim
stttisse censetniis. Visconti, on the other hand, thought the base and imos-
cape Doric {Man. Gabini, tav. i. B i and p. 17) ; while Gell {Environs of
' In these same woiks (according to Hall. Jml. 1S45, J3) the conduit which conveyed ihe
water to the balhs was actually discovered.
' Compare, however, p. 185, n. 1.
* Edifizi, V. p. 91 ; cf. vi. lav. 1 10 for plan.
Classical ToroGRAi'iiy of the Roman Campagna. — I. 183
Rome, p. 26s) and Nibby {Anaiisi, ii. 85) believed the decorations to be
Ionic, From Visconti's drawing it would seem that there was a mixture
of styles. The base looks Doric, while the fluting does not (cf. Abeken,
Ann. Inst., 1S40, p. 31). The whole was constructed of blocks of Gabi'ne
stone (sperone). which was extensively used in Roman times (Strabo. v. 3.
ro, p. 'jS),' originally covered with stucco, and now of a beautiful brown
Fic. 7. —Tub Tkmi
colour. The front and side walls are the thickness 01 a single block
Co'585-o'595 m.) and 14 courses are preserved, each o'55-o'595 m. in height,
giving a total height (as at present existing) of 28 feet. The blocks are of
various lengths. The whole cella* measures 1354 by 8-38 m. inside: the
doorway is 238 m. wide. Spurwalls project 2' 14 m. on each side of the
back wall, which is ri5 m. thick. The floor was paved with white mosaic
of "palombino "* (now almost completely destroyed), assigned by those
L63).
t^ The British School at Rome.
who saw it to the time of Hadrian : the tesserae are s to ID mm. square b/l
IS mm. deep, and not very carefully set At a distance of rS/ m. fromJ
o
o
o
o
o
Mitres
12 3*5
o
o
o
o
o
1 1
o o o o o o
Fig. 8.— Plan of Temple, Gabii.
the back wall of the cella is a stone ledge in which Nibby and Abeken
were able to trace holes, intended to support a raihng with three entrance
spaces, which divided the cella from the sacrarium proper, the latter being
Classical Topography of the Roman Campagna. — I.
185
U-
at a slightly higher level. On the outside of the back wall is seen the fine
simple podium moulding (Fig. 9).
The diameter of a drum of one of the columns is 078 m. : the flutings
are 006 in depth, and -14 from centre to centre. There were probably six
in front of the temple and six on each side, but none were found in situ,
and the stylobate has disappeared.
The temple was surrounded on three sides by Doric colonnades
(Visconti, Monumenta Gahini, tav. i. B. 2), the columns of which measured
0'42 in diameter. At the S.E. end (according to Visconti, p. 15 n. 38 and
frontispiece: no traces of them now exist) a semi-circular flight of steps
descended towards the highroad. The foundations of the chambers sur-
rounding the colonnades are composed 1^,^^^ I
partly of blocks of stone 040 m. in ^-ji^^,,, [^''M*^
width, and partly of the solid rock,
which has been hewn in conformity
with the plan.
The Forum lay a little way to the
E. of the temple, between it and the ^
church of St. Primitivus,on the N.side ^"^- 9--Mo"J;r>'N<'0'' Pod'"" at back
OF Temple, Gahii.
of the road, and fronting right upon it.
No traces of it now remain above ground, but the site is fixed by the
fact that here alone does the boundary line of the Borghese property cross
the road, so as to include a narrow strip on the N. side.' A plan (repro-
duced in Fig. 10) is given by Visconti {ATonumenti Cdbini, tav. i. Fig. C).
The temple lies beyond the line, in the Azzolini property (Visconti, Monu-
■menti Gabini, p. 15, note 37 ; of. CanJna, Edifizi, vi. tav. 109). The N.W.
end of the Forum was occupied by the Curia, which in Hadrian's honour
received the name Aelia Augusta, and to the N.E. of it stood a small
Augusteum* over the door of which was placed C.IJ-. xiv. 2795, a dedica-
tion in honorem memm'iae damns Domitiae' Aiigvstae Cn. Domiti Corbulonis
' It is curious that the boundary line should not follow the Vin PraenestloiL here as elsewhere,
and an examinatioa of the lieldwal! which marks it shows that it is full of pavingslones. Probalily,
itierefore, a rood ran E. from Ihe temple, parallel at lirsl to the h^hroad, then crossing it S. of the
church, and then turning S.S.E. The existence of Ihe section S, of Ihe highroad is certain, for its
pavement, Z'fi m. b width, with crepidines ^5 cm. in width 00 each side, can still be followed for
some way. We were told that on the further %\Ae of l>3nlano it could be seen E. of Monte FalcoTie
going toward! Colonna- It, or that mentioned p. 194, n. 2, may be l]ie lond spoken of by Fca
(Ci)Mb, JO) as crossing the basin of Panliino.
' Numbered respectively z and 3 in Visconti's plan.
* The wife of Domilian.
The British School at Rome.
Jil{iae). This is the view of Visconti. Canina (Edifisi,v. p. 92,11. Il)
maintains that this small chamber cannot have been an Augusteum, which
should have stood opposite to the Curia.
A little way to the E. of the Forum Canina marks baths in his plan.
Of these no traces are now visible, and no description of them exists.
We know that in the excavations of 1792 five lead water-pipes were found
(C./.i. xiv. 28i5-28i9 = xv. 7832, 7861b, 7863, 7864, 7868a), the first of
I FoRuu, Gabii.
which bears the inscription : Aure/ius Alexander prox{imus) ab epistu^is)
Lat{inis) ; Digitius fecit, while the other four give merely the name of the
maker of the pipe. Unfortunately, we have no details as to the precise
locality of their discovery, so that we cannot tell what was the property
of which Aurelius Alexander was the owner. Other buildings in the
neighbourhood are spoken of vaguely by Visconti {op. cii. p. 19), in the ruins
^^r Classical Topography of the Roman Campagna. — I. 187
of one of which were found two fine columns of "alabastro rosso fiorito"
which passed into the possession of Pope Pius VI., also a bust of Gordianus
Pius III. (op. cit. p. 36 and tav. vi., No. 14), while in another building was
found a mosaic pavement, which was bought by " Milord Harvey Conte di
Bristol " {cp. cit. p. 19, n, 48).
The Greek sepulchral inscription Kaibel, I.G.I. 1319 was also found in
the neighbourhood at the same period.
All these facts were elicited by the excavations of 1792, directed by
Gavin Hamilton, and fully described, with plans and illustrations, by
Visconti {pp. cit.). Hamilton had already tried his fortune in this district
in 1778, when a statue of Dtaiia was found " at the Lago di Castillione
amongst ruins of antient baths," according to a note under a drawing of
the head of the statue in the Townley collection, now preserved in the
Students' Room of the Department of Greek and Roman Antiquities at
the British Museum (portfolio marked " Drawings from various antiqui-
ties" ; shelf-mark 59 e). Before 1792, the site of Gabii, though sufficiently
clearly indicated by the Itineraries and by ancient authors as lying half-
way between Rome and Praeneste, at a distance of about 12 miles
from Rome (Roma Via Praenestina — XII — Gabios — XI — Praeneste; cf.
Appian, Bell. Civ. v. 23, Strabo v. 3. 10. p. 238, Dionysius iv. 53 : the last
two of these writers estimate the distance at 100 stadia= \2\ miles, which
is almost exactly correct), had not infrequently been misplaced, especially
by the early topographers. The first propagator ol error was Raphael
Volaterranus. who (in his Commentaria Urbana, lib, vi. f. jf, ed. 1506)
placed it at Zagarolo, and was followed by Pirro Ligorio, while Biondo
{^Italia Illustrata, Basileae, 1559 pp. 320, 326) preferred Gallicano.
Hamilton's discoveries, however, set the question at rest. The inscriptions
and statues of the Forum were discovered in full number, and the former
are of especial interest Some of these objects still remain in the Villa
Borghese, others were carried off to the Louvre, and have not returned to
Italy. (Lanciani, Ntw Tales of old Rome, p. 307.) A letter from Hamilton
to Charles Townley (probably) giving some account of his excavations is
published by A. H. Smith \x\ Journal of Hellenic Studies, vol. xxi. p. 318.
This spot, however, the centre of the life of Gabii under the Empire,
did not, in all probability, fall within the compass of the ancient city.
As is almost invariably the case, we find that the Roman town when
I founded was placed in a spot far less capable of defence, in order to obviate
i88 The British School at Rome.
the possibility of a revolt of the inhabitants, while the citadel was dis-
niantled and abandoned, probably coming, in the end, to serve as the site
of some rich man's villa. Before proceeding to examine the remains of
the ancient city, which stretched along the E. bank of the lake up to the
tower of Castiglione, the probable site of the arx, it may be well to sketch
briefly the history of Gabii, as far as it is known to us (a good general
account is given in C.I.L. xiv. p. 278),
The part played by Gabii in the story of the expulsion of the Tarquins
is well known. But the claim of Gabii to appear in the earliest history
uf Rome, rests not merely on this traditional history, but on other evidence ;
the continuance of certain ancient usages, *'jf. the adoption of the chulus
Gabimis by the consul when war was to be declared, the opposition between
ager Romanxis and agir Gabinus in the augural law (cf. Varro, L.L. v. 33),
and the formulae of cursing for Gabii (Macrob, Sat. iii. 9, 13). We hear of
an alliance with Rome (Paul : ad Fest. p. 56, Dionysius iv. 58) * made in the
time of Tarquinius Superbus, which must have followed this period of
hostility (Hor. Bpist. ii. i. 25), and coins struck by C. Antistius Vetus
(iii. vir monetalis in B.C. 18) bear on their reverse the legend yfecrfwj /(o^»/i)
Ripniani) qum Gabinis. It is noteworthy that Dionysius (iv. 57) speaks of
Antistius Petro as a chief of Gabii deceived by Sextus Tarquinius, so that
theAntistii were a family, in all probability, of Gabine origin. It was so
far only, as the earlier name Via Gabina (p. 128) shows, that the road
originally led. The subsequent history of the town is, for a long period,*
quite unknown : it is doubtful when it became Roman : and it is only in
the first century B.C. that we find it again spoken of,as quite a small place,
hardly able to send representatives to the Latin festival (Cic. Pro Plane.
9, 23), The poets, in fact, made it a byword for desolation. Horace,
Epist. i. II, 7, speaks of Gabiis desertior atque Fidenis vicus. Cf. also
Propertius, v. i. 34, Lucan, vii. 392, Juvenal, iii. 191, vi. 56, x. 100. But a
truer picture of its condition is given by Dionysius, iv. 53 : vvv fuv ovk(ti
avvaiKoVf/Avr^ trava irKifv Saa /lip^ vauhotceverat xarit t^p SioSav : in other
words, it became simply a small place on the highroad, upon the very edge
of which its Forum lay. This is borne out by the fact that the corporation
of tabernarii, who elsewhere were not held in great consideration, received
' According to Dionysius, the text of the treaty, written on a bullock's skin, was preserved to
his day in the temple of Semo Sancus on the Quiiinal. Cf. Mommsen, i. zSo.
^ Its mention in the treafisc De Caloniis a-s atiiro ducta laknia has not, in view of the chuaclei
of thai treatise, any historical value (C/./:, xiv. p. 27811. 5).
Classical Topography of the Roman Campagna.— 1.
in a distribution o^ sportulae little less than the decuriones and Augustales,
their share being eleven sesterces each, as against fifteen and thirteen
respectively {C.I.L. xiv. 2793). At first sight, indeed,.an examination of
the inscriptions would lead one to suppose that in the first and second
centuries of the empire the prosperity of Gabit was quite considerable.
There was certainly some degree of well-being. From the time of
Augustus {C.I.L. xiv. 2801), or at any rate of Tiberius {ib. 2S02), to that of
Elagabalus {ib. 2809), the town enjoyed a municipal organization. Public
works and games are spoken of; the curia was adorned with a considerable
number of statues of members of the imperial house, and Hadrian appears
in the inscriptions as a special benefactor, the Curia being called after him
Aelia Augusta. Further, we learn from Horace {Epist. i. 15, g) and
Juvenal (//, ct.) that the baths of Gabii were well known in their day.
This prosperity, however, was probably to some extent fictitious. The
impression given by the inscriptions is about as far removed from the
truth on one side, as the exaggerated language of the poets is on the
other. Had the Forum of Tusculum been found, like that of Gabii,
untouched by the spoiler's hand, the harvest would probably have been far
richer there. Like Fidenae, to which Horace most aptly compares it, it
became a small roadside village, and it was to its position that it owed, if
not its existence, at any rate the greater part of such prosperity as it con-
tinued to enjoy.
We may now pass on to the remains of the primitive city. Proceeding
northwards from the temple in the direction of the ar.x for about 500 yards,
a mound is reached (perhaps a tumulus), upon which in March 1896 we
found many fragments of black glazed (so-called Campanian) pottery.
Just N. of this mound in 1885 Pasqui and Cozza observed two frag-
ments of wall on each side of the rock-cut road, the probable site of a
gate giving access to the city.
The blocks of stone, which are better cut than those of the rest of the
walls, and smaller, measured ro5 to v%% m. long and 45 cm. high, and
the wall was i'85 m. thick, with headers and stretchers in alternate
courses. To the N. of this wall (the western portion of which is still pre-
served) a narrow neck has been formed by deep cuttings on each side.
See Notisie degli Scavi, 1885, 424, and tav. xiii. where a description and
plan (neither very complete) of the existing remains of Gabii and of its
immediate neighbourhood are given.
rgo
The British School at Rome.
From this point starts a remarkable ancient road, the prolongation of
which ran along the S. edge of the crater through the Roman city, passing .
S. of the temple and joining the Via I'raenestina just W. of it (cf. Canina,fl
Edifizi, vi, tav. rog). The road itself runs almost due N. for about 450 ni.|
It is a causeway, left untouched by quarrying operations, with a road traclef
about tkvo mttres wide and one deep cut ill it, and foi'med the cardo of t
city. A portion of it is shown in Fig. 1 1.
About 200 yards further on, below the road, upon a shelf left byfl
quarrying operations, is a modem hut village (Fig. 12) which is. however,
remarkable as a survival of the earliest type of settlement. See Lanciani,
Ruins and Excavations of Ancient Rome, Fig. 45 (and p. 114^, for the
photograph of a precisely similar village on the W. side of the lake, on,
the left bank of the Osa stream. Close to this, high up on the bank e
the lake, is a small fragment of the primitive city wall. Two courses a
rough opus quadratum of local stone are preserved ; the blocks in eacl^
course are about 33 cm. in height, and go up to 90 cm. in length. Further
on is another longer fragment, the blocks of which only just appear above
p
t
f
1
1
h
t
t
?
t
1
1
Classical Topography of the Roman Campagna. — I. 19
lie surface of the ground ; the line may in fact be traced along the edg
f the lake for most of the way to the tower. Neither of these two piece
f wall is mentioned in the Notisie dcgli Scavi. Both of them are runnin
SI. by W.
To the N.W. of the tower is a large piece of wall (Fig. 13), an angi
ormed by two lines, running respectively 15° W. of N. for 860 m. and du
iV. for 9'95 m. The wall measures 170 ra. in thickness.
Fio. II.— Hut Village, Cabk.
There are three foundation courses, 0-55, 050, o'63 high respectively
"hen come four courses of good masonry, aflernately of stretchers and
eaders. The blocks are 0-45 m. in height and breadth on the average, whili.
fie stretchers vary in length from ri5 to 177 m. Most of the mortar between
lie blocks was inserted when the wall was rebuilt in the Middle Ages
ibove these again comes the irregular masonry of a mediaeval restoration
le blocks of the old wall being used again, with a great deal of morta
lid between them. Fig. 13 shows the three different styles of masonry
.^^1
^^H
^^H
192 The British School at Rome.
very clearly. This is the most conspicuous relic of the walls of Gabii, but!
in the article of the Notizie already cited it is not even mentioned. As tbea
writers of that article can hardly have failed to see it, it must be assumed I
that they believed it to be of purely mediaeval origin.
Fig. 13,— Anijle of Citv Wail, Gabii.
The fortress of Castiglione, a view of which is given in Lanciani|/
Tales 0/ old Rome, ^. -^07, was of considerable importance in the Middle J
Ages: and it is impossible not to suppose that it was the arx of the 1
ancient city. Though its height is not so noticeable from the immediate
neighbourhood, it is surprising from how many distant points it is visible,
and its position on the edge of the lake, when strengthened by the ■
Classical Topography of the Roman Campagna. — I. 193
addition of walls, must have been a formidable one. On the E., too, the
ground slopes away quite steeply, the large foundation blocks of the walls
being visible at several points, and the rock has been cut perpendicularly
by quarrying. On the S. there was nothing but the artificially narrowed
neck by which the road entered, and the only weak side was the N., where,
however, quarrying operations had done a good deal to minimise the
danger. One of these quarries, 150 m. to the N. of the tower, was used in
late Roman times as the lowest story of some building, being divided with
walls and cemented. Close to this are two circular cisterns cut in the rock
and cemented, the age of which is doubtful.
Further E., at the top of the slope down to the Fosso di San Giuliano,
and starting from a point about 100 yards N.E. of the tower of Castiglione,
from which it is separated by a quarry, there is a line of blocks of stone,
-evidently the worn foundation of a wall of opus quadratum, running in a
N.N.W. direction for a distance of about 150 paces. This must belong to
some large building outside the limits of the city, or possibly to a road.
At a distance of about 175 m. to the E. of the tower, Pasqui and
Cozza observed remains which they took to be those of the walls of the
ancient Latin town. One side of the wall appeared just above ground, at
the top of the slope down to the stream, the other was buried under a
small hillock, possibly originated by quarry refuse. The blocks were of
Gabine stone and measured 64 cm. by i "37 m. and 60 cm. by i '45 {Not.
Scav, L c, no. i on plan). They are a part of the foundations of the city
walls on the E. side. Further traces are to be seen more to the S.,
running almost as far as the point at which the road described on p. 190
enters the city.
From this point, just to the N. of a large new barn, a road descends
steeply to the valley to the E. and ascends on the opposite side, where its
selce pavement is still well preserved. Whether after reaching the plateau
it ran E. to join the road to Passerano, or whether it ran N. or S. along the
edge of the cliff, is uncertain ; two tombs at the top of the ascent, orient-
ated N. and S., seem to favour the latter supposition, but it is not unlikely
that a branch ran in either direction.
At the tower itself there are no traces of antiquity, except a large block
of travertine measuring 935 by 605 mm. and 25 cm. thick, bearing the
inscription C./.Z. xiv. 2820. As the text is not quite correctly given in
the Corpus, the compilers of which do not seem to have known that the
O
194 The British School at Rome.
inscription was still in existence at Gabii, I repeat it here. It v
the tenuta of Castiglionc.
^X-CLOVLIVS-PF
FALVA-LXXXXV
LVIACLOVLIV-A
\S]ex(/us) Cloulius P{ubli) f{ilius)
■Ui ., 'xii) ainnis) Ixxxxv
■ << ') K""") ■ ■ ■ ■
was found in
4
The reading CL\ is giver
The height of the letters ir
Returning to the ^ f"
E. of the temple, other
on the map is a bui r wm
(three of each) of brick i
so extraordinarily bad, th is
second century, but the presence ol
lati. FVLVIA would be possible.
■ is respectively -085, -08, -07 m.
may observe on the left, just to the
Gabii of the Empire. At point 62
se constructed of alternate bands
latum. The brickwork (Fig. 14) is
D believe that it can belong to the
5 reticulatum is decisive.
This was converted into the church of St. Primitivus by the addition ot
a nave and tower dating perhaps from the eleventh century (for this church
see Nibby, Analisi, ii. 86 ; Stevenson, Cimitero di Zotico, p. 55). Between
this and the temple the ground is covered with bricks and marble, as if
some building had been quite recently destroyed. Here we found a
fragment of the brick-stamp C.I.L. xv. 2353,* and another unpublished
stamp, which seems to read thus MIVLIM/. The letters are only 1 cm.
- in height, and the height of the stamp is 15 mm. Between this church
and the temple Cozza and Pasqui found fragments of rough potterj',
belonging possibly to the primitive necropolis of Gabii, and a new
fragment of the Fasti Gabini ( C.I.L. xiv, 4232).
Soon after passing the church the road crosses the Fosso di San
Giuliano, and ascends steeply on its opposite bank.* The pavement of
' This slamp dales from Ihe bceinning of Ihe second cenlury A.D.
^ Before ihc a»;enl begins, a road, the pivcment of which is slill well pieserved foi the most
part {though in places it is covered by soil, and in others the stones have been removed for llcld-
walls), diveii^es to the S. , and runs in the direction of the Aqua Alexandiina, which it should cross
a little to the VV. of its sjirings, if indeed it does not [urn down to ihem. I have not yet followed
its whole course, but could see no place where it could pass under the aqueduct. To the pro-
longation of this, or to that mentioned in the ioolnote to p. 185, Ficoroni {Laiite, 30) probably
Classical Topography of the Roman Campagna. — I. 195
the ancient road is visible just on the right of the present path.' At the
foot of the hill, on the left, is a large oval tomb of opus reticulatum and
quadratum. Just before the top of the hill is reached, a road diverges
N.N.W. to a large villa of opus reticulatum on the edge of the hill, and
apparently goes no further. Fifty yards further another road, almost as
wide as the Praenestina itself — 355 m. as against 4"io m. — diverges N.N.E.
along a field-wall, which is the boundary of the Agro Romano (this
boundary line very frequently follows ancient roads) until it reaches, at
point 74, a road running eastwards to Passerano, which perhaps started
lefcn — " al i^uRle I/./, all' acqucdolln) a1 line dov' e uni «eaturigginc d'acqua. rHnlici seldala
pus* cunliguo." (lie is pco|mmding i iheury ihai the ancient ruad rrum Ostcrk del Finocchio to
S. Cciarcu ran in nn i)sotiile1y straight line to ihe N. of the present road.)
' A wall of opus (jundrntiim 90 cm. in width can be traced on ihc S. ude — il wu intended to
tapfon the onh above the ruad.
O 2
from Cas' jlione. This road has long been known to topographers, and I
is markec n the maps of Ameti (1693) and Cingolani (1704). Accordinjf I
to the former it started from this point only. Its pavement is preserved I
in places, and the cuttings made for it in the hill-sides clearly indicate its I
course. Along it may be seen several tombstones of the type described
on p. 17s.
On each side of the Via Praenestina at the top of the hill are a few
tombs in opus quadratum, and on the south side in the field are wall J
"'' se Ice, which in places alternates. I
direction is shown on the map,
; full extent of the N, most wall,
1 to the highroad for over 200 m.
e settlement is very doubtful, for
, except on the W. side, and there
" the cliff, but a few yards back
icertain— they may be connected
rallel to the highroad may have
la. Just N. of the S. line are the
ijiiadratum. It is worthy of note
that Fabretti, Ameti, Cingolani, all mark here " Gabiorum rudera " in their
maps. It is clear that the remains existing in their time fat the end
of the seventeenth century) must have been a good deal more extensive
than these which are now visible. They resemble those on the east slope
of the hill on which stands Torre lacova (p. 251).
Before leaving Gabii it may be well to give details of the discovery of
a few inscriptions in this district, C.I.L. xiv. 2791 : Q. Veranius Mysiis
Silvano votum, was seen about 1792 in a barn of the farm of Castiglione,
with a headless statue of Silvanus, about three palms high, upon it. No.
2822 was found " in Via I'raencstina in tempio quodam deserto ad rivum
nono ab urbe miliari " according to Mctellus, who copied it early in
the sixteenth century. Dessau, in commenting on the inscription, refers
these words to the so-called Temple of Juno ; but this is quite eleven
miles distant from even the modern gate. Besides, the inscription is
sepulchral, and " templum "' is not infrequently used by sixteenth century
archaeologists in the sense of tomb, especially in reference to the elegant
brick tombs of the second and third centuries which resemble small temples.
Ligorio in fact says that it was found " in Via Praenestina in certe ruine
foundations of r '•
with opus quadrat
-al -'
ge.
though it was
indie
which runs cl
nd a
K
Whether they 1
c
the site is not one
t
the wall does not r
from it. Their
re
with roads — perhaps
the
belonged to the ea
remains of a large ■
1 rustica in i
Classical Topography of the Roman Campagna. — I. 197
di un sepolcro a molte miglia da Roma." No. 2824 was found in 1794 not
far from the road, near Pantano (J,e, on the right) on the Cesi property in
the excavation made by Principe Augusto. It belongs probably to the
year 5 1 1 A.D., and is in honour of one Felix v{ir) i{nlustris) ex consule
ord(inarius\ In a field wall close to the Temple of Juno Stevenson (^MS,
cit. f. 7) copied the following inscription, cut upon a block of tufa similar
to those of which the temple is built, but broken, and therefore measuring
only 0'40X0'23 metres.
DE
Before the D he saw traces of a letter, either N or A : the lettering
was very large. Here he also found two copies of the brick stamp
C P EI SAB INI : and another fragment of an inscription /CRI/
In the collection of terra-cottas at B&le are two pieces from Gabii (from
the Horner and Miiller collection) (i) Room I. 4 (Bernoulli, Catalogue, p. 22)
Female head with laurel or olive garland, diadem and veil. The head
is flat behind the veil, as if in relief: it is probably part of a statue, (2)
Room I. 45 {op, cit, p. 31) left foot and sandal 0*245 m. in length.
VI.— From Gabh to Cavamonte
{from the Twelfth to tlie Eighteenth Milestone^
On the opposite (S.) side of the Via Praenestina to Gabii lies the great
plain known as Pantano (swamp). This large basin is probably of volcanic
origin, and may have contained a lake in prehistoric times, which, however,
owing to the small volume, perhaps, of the springs which fed it, never
attained any very great depth ; for the floor of the valley is absolutely flat,
and its banks, on the W. side especially, are not of sufficient height to
allow of any great depth of water being contained within them. That the
Lake Regillus is to be placed here, in accordance with the nomenclature
of the Staff" Map (derived from a conjecture of Rosa's) is highly improbable
(see Rendiconti dei Lincei, 1898, 120, Classical Review^ 1898, 470).
The basin was probably always somewhat swampy, as it is almost entirely
barren of traces of antiquity. There are no bricks, no pottery, no signs of
human habitation ; almost the only remains are the aqueduct of the Aqua
Alexandrina (the springs of which are now used for the Acqua Felice), which
winds across the plain, adopting a sinuous course in order to keep on the
boundary line between two properties, and a large quantity of paving
4
stone; jecially near the farmhouse. None of these can be certainly said
to be losition ; but besides the roads crossing Pantano from the Via
Praent la towards the I^bicana, that running N.E. from the farmhouse
towards the Via Praeneslina, which it would Join some way W. of I
1 :i, is very likely ancient. At the Casale or farmhouse itself
are fi ,ents of marble columns, an oil-press bed, a handmill, &c., but
re \i cisejy they were found is quite uncertain.
.5 a very large number of votive terra-cotta objects, representing
IP human fnrm hrca Pirps female brcasts, membra virilia, hearts.
f oxen (like those found at Ponte
ot far from the Casale of Pantano
N. edge of this large basin {Bait.
91, note lo). The deposit was
ith the thermal waters of Gabii.
"cicoriari" who found them, but
Palazzo Borghese. In the tenuta
tly. On the S. and parallel to it
leet, also various ; id i
di Nona, cf p. 17^ ,,..- t cov<
towards Rome, i.e. auini here
Jnst. 184s, 52 ; Canina,
supposed to have sc *• xmn
Many of the objects wi by
as many more found then way to
was found the waterpipe C.I.L. xv.
The Via Praenestina descends g
are the insignificant remains of an aqueduct, which must, however, have
crossed the valley of the small stream which it here encounters at a height
of 10 or IS m, above ground. On the W, side of this valley the first traces
appear, three or four low brick arches with piers of opus I'eticulatum, and
on the E. side are similar remains. As far as can be seen, the width of
the whole was about 120 m. It would go underground at about 75 m,
above sea level, and probably it came from the springs of the Aqua
Alexandrina to supply Gabii with water. Hadrian is mentioned in an
inscription {C.I.L. xiv. 2797) as a benefactor in this respect, and this
aqueduct may have been constructed by him (Nibby, Analisi, ii. 86).
Just before the little stream at the bottom of the valley is reached, on
the S. side of the road, about 25 yards from it, I noticed lying in the field
a half column of travertine 050 m. in diameter, bearing the following
inscription.
I in ' -08
M-PODILLI-MF- OS
N S A - C I L I Q F OS
I _CVR ■04s
Classical Topography of the Roman Campagna. — I. 199
The upper end is smooth, the lower broken off. The letters are weH
cut, and appear to belong to the first half of the seventh century of Rome :
and I venture to suggest that this is possibly the thirteenth milestone of
the Via Praenestina, restoring the text thus :
[x] iit I M, Podilliius) M.f.\N, Sarcili{us) Q,f, \ [aed.p'] L cur {averunf).
It is true that the thirteenth mile would fall about half a mile further
towards Rome, but the milestone is lying quite loose in the field, so that
its original position cannot be determined. The form of the stone (a half
column) is also unusual. See my notice of the inscription in Rendiconti
dei Linceiy 1900, 217, where a photograph is given.^ For other milestones
of the Republican period discovered in the neighbourhood of Rome see
Rem: Mittheilungen, 1889, 83; 1895, 298. It is interesting to note
that a document in the Archives of S. Prassede (Galletti, Primicerio^ 284),
dating from the year 1060, gives the following as the boundaries of a
property :
Inter affines ab una latere rivo sancti luliani et exinde revertitur per
limite qui est super eadem rivum usque in Termuli et deinde pergente in
plagam que vacatur Aura et per ipsa Aura ducente usque in silice antiqua que
est intra Pantano. Et deinde per ipsa silice revertente in loco ubi dicitur
Aqua Piitea et exinde . , . , in viiliare et ab ipso miliare ambulaturi in supra-
scrip to rivo sancti Jul iani qui est
I doubt if Aqua Putea can refer to the Fontanile dell' acqua puzza
(probably sulphureous, but I have not visited it) which lies in the Quarto
di Corzano, over a mile to the E. of the Fosso di S. Giuliano. " Miliare "
in all probability refers to the milestone of which we have been speaking
which was very likely still in situ. Another document of the year 1186
belonging to the same Archives {ibid, 326) gives the same points as
boundaries, omitting only the last (miliare).
Where the road crosses the valley its supporting wall in opus quad-
ratum is well preserved. It now ascends again, first gradually, then more
steeply, and reaches at I Cancelletti the level of 104 m. above the sea. The
pavement is in fine preservation, and the width of the road is 4*16 m. (14 feet
exactly) at one place on the ascent, and 3*90 m. (13 feet) at the top. On the.
* The variations in the text here given are due to a more recent examination of the inscription
The gentile names seem to be unknown hitherto : N. is an abbreviation for the praenomen
Numerius (Mommsen, Horn. Forsch, i. 19).
nsa wo k. On die S. a nad pguhaMy <I f * p g B tI tt> Ae apnags rf Ae Aqn
Alejandrina, tor, startup Ihitn dmn, s fine of stoaes i^b alcMg Ae ei^
of tiie hiQ owtfavaids tor a *<i«*^«"- of ibont aoo yaids, i
tf on g l y the fine of the sappotHag vail of a nnd. And fin^ the b
thehfll another mad nnsondiatanb along the xii^ stnig^ In t
bouse called La Palla^icina, the pav-emcnt of which, as we were told Oft
the spot, had only recently been removed. This road according to Fabretti
(De Aquis, plan opp. p, 90) ran on to join the Via Labicana not far W.
ofS. Cesaieo.
Other ancient roads apparently crossed the tenuta in \-arious directions,
to judge from the number of pavii^ stones in the field wails near the
farmhouse and from what v,-c were told.' Some of them were probably con-
> la the T«ma ddh Palkridn ns fooMd ■ k*d wMopipr. (OukUds Fel^cksimai itan.
1
r Classical Topography ok the Roman Campagna.— I. 20
nected with Ihe service of the great aqueducts, considerable remains of whicl
still exist above ground in this district ; a fact which, as far as I know, ha
not yet been obser\'ed, the generally prevalent idea having been that afte
Cavamonte, which is quite three miles further E., all trace of them is los
until they emerge at the well-known arches of Le Capannelle and Romr
Vecchia, only seven miles from Rome itself. Of these remains I have
liven a short account in the Cla^sicnl Review for July igco, p. 325.
^H
1
VW.. I6.-PONTF. J.I TeBRA.
After I Canceiletti the road keeps along fairly on the level (Fig. 15)
ind crosses the Fosso della Pallavicina by a modern bridge, just to the
N. of which is a tomb mound : the older bridge was just to the S. 0;
he present. The pavement of the road is well preserved at this point anc
ill the way up the next hill, which is short and fairly steep, the road rising
hirty-ninc mitres in about six hundred. At the top of the hill on the left
jf the road are the remains of a large villa with a floor of hard cement anc
^real many bits of marble and brick lying scattered about ; and about a
1
202 The British School at Rome.
kilometre to the N.N.W. are the arched substructures of another villa,
where there was found recently a curious bronze object,^ like a simpulutn^
shaped thus ^\ with a small bowl (A) at the lower end.
'A
The road now descends steeply again to the Ponte di Terra (about
115 m. above the sea-level). Here its original width was about 4*35 m.,but
it has been widened in Roman times to 650 m. or even more. The Ponte
di Terra is an ancient bridge (Fig. 16), built of rectangular blocks of tufa,
varying in height from 45 to 55 cm., and reaching r8o m. in length in
some cases. The bridge has a span of 48 5 m. and is 645 m. wide ;
it is slightly askew with respect to the stream. Its height above the
present bed is about 5 40 m., and its total length, including the bridge
head at each end, is 1620 m. . Just after crossing it the road bends sharply
to the S.E. and continues in the same direction for about a mile. Two
tombs in opus quadratum are passed on the left at once, and a third is
seen a little further up the hill, about 100 yards from the bridge, with a
semi-circular niche in the middle of the front, which is 12 m. in length.
At this point an ancient road, recognisable by the cutting 4 yards wide
made for it through the hill, turns off to the N.E. and runs in all probability
to Passerano.
The Via Praenestina follows the edge of the slope, supported on the
S.W. by a wall of opus quadratum (the stone for which was apparently
quarried on the spot, just below the road itself) until it reaches the top of
the ridge, along which it runs upon an embankment. It would seem that
the engineering here is at fault. The road is made to ascend steeply
instead of sloping gradually up the side of the hill as the modern track
does ; or else the sharp turn and the steep ascent up the ridge might have
been avoided by taking the valley just to the N.E.
At the top of the hill are the remains of a villa rustica in opus
quadratum, with " grotti *' cut in the rock to some depth, probably for the
storage of water. The character of the building is indicated by the
remains of an oil or wine-press bed. Further on is a large square tomb
on the S. W. side of the road, built of blocks of stone 85 cm. thick : and a
little way beyond on the N.E. side is the so^oUed "Grotta del Diavok^"
apparently a small tomb chamber, ei ^jjf/jglj^^
^ The sketch was made from the descript
^-^^^ii^ism^^.
Classical Topography of the Roman Campagna. — I. 203
•
good brickwork and opus reticulatum. It is reached by a passage 6 m.
long by 1*34 m. wide, descending fairly sharply ; the flight of steps which
originally gave access to it is buried. The chamber measures 358 m.
long by 3 46 m. wide, and has a barrel vault of concrete, which has been
left undecorated and still shows the marks of the boards used in setting it.
The height from the spring of the vault to the crown is 2*06 m. ; where the
vault begins a brick cornice runs all round the walls, and the chamber is
filled up to within 43 cm. of it, so that the original total height cannot be
estimated.
A little way beyond this tomb the road returns to its original direction
and keeps a little way S. of E. The pavement, as in the whole of this
disused section between the Osteria deir Osa and Cavamonte, is in a
wonderful state of preservation.
Here a deverticulum turns off in a S.W. direction. Its pavement is
still fairly well preserved, and its width is 2*50 m. (about 8J feet). It goes
over the hill, marking, as in so many cases, the boundary line between two
fields even to this day, and probably runs back towards La Pallavicina.
Remains of two or three tombs are passed on the right, but there is
nothing of any real importance.^ A little way S. of a fountain on the right
is the pavement of a road running E. and W. which may, however, have
been relaid, and S. of this again in the bank of a stream is the specus of a
small aqueduct, which diverged from the Anio Novus (to judge at least
from the character of the water deposit) and supplied some villa. We
soon come to a bridge over a stream which descends N. to Passerano.
The bridge itself is not ancient, but at the E. end on the S. side
are remains of the wall of the head of the ancient bridge. The stream is
crossed a little higher up by the two great bridges of the Aqua Claudia
and the Anio Novus, marked on the Staff Map as " Ponte Diruto," as
though there were but one bridge.
On its E. bank is the pavement of a road 2*50 m. in width, at first
running twelve degrees E. of S. and then S.S.E. It is too high up to be
connected with the aqueducts, and apparently runs up to the top of the
hilli probably to a villa ; ^ but on the N. it runs to the Via Praenestina and
, ^ Ib thb ndghbourhood (on the Colle di Quadra versa, before reaching Colle Linaro) was found
inscription of Sex. Pompcius Baebianus, scriba quaestorius et aedilicius {C.I.L, xiv.
■^■> opp, p. 90) makes it run to the eighteenth milestone of the Via Labicana,
tdc to the VUla Strozzi on the hill W. of Zagarolo.
ZCH
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crosses it, turning then due N., at which point it is only 225 m, in width.
Where it diverges there is a group of tombs, some of which were finely
decorated with blocks of marble ; others are rcughly boJIt of concrete J
with flange tiles laid at the bottom and a gabled roof of hvo similarfl
tiles.
The road led in the first instance to a large \TlIa on the edge of t
CoHe Vigna, of the substructures of wliich (in opus reticulatum) coi
siderable remains exist ; and thence it must have gone on to join the r
between Passerano and Cavamonte, which it crossed, ascending steep^^
through a rock cutting to the top of the hill (Colle Selva) on the further^
side of the road, where it reaches the remains of a villa rusttca. Its further
course I have not been able to explore.
The Via Praenestina soon turns further S-, and after running in a S.E, ,
direction for a little way,' comes quite close to the aqueduct of the Anio 1
Novus, the specus of which is here at a lc\e\ of about 176 m. above
the sea.
The aqueduct keeps on the S. of the road, and both turn sharplyl
E.N.E. The road which goes off at the comer in a S.S.W. direction x
very likely ancient, as the pavement seems to indicate a divergence at thisl
point, \ibby (Anafisi, n. 522) in his walk along it failed to find any traces"
of antiquity. It runs to the Osteria della Colonna.
The aqueduct soon crosses a small stream by what was originally a
single arch bridge in opus quadratum, which, however, has been
strengthened on each side by successive supporting walls of concrete, so
that the thickness of the whole has been at different times increased, until
from 260 m. it has grown to no less than 950 m. The first additions are
faced with good brickwork with an ornamental cornice, the later with opus
mixtum. The existence of this aqueduct is indicated by Fabretti (Diss,
de Aquis et Aquaeductibus, map of " Dorsum Praenestinum et Tuscu-
lanum "), Cingolani (map), and Nibby {Analisi, i. 473); and the " Ponte
Dintto" must be what Fabretti calls (without describing it) the last
remains of the aqueduct towards Rome. He, however, attributes all
these remains to the Aqua Claudia, whereas it is clear, from the amount
and character of the deposit, that this aqueduct is that of the Anio Novus.
' In this section some very large paving slones are observable. One measured no less than
I 'JOS I 00 ni. The pavement, loo, is exttemely well preseri'ed, and measures 4 40 m. in width.
There is a crtpids on each side, of blocks of selce, one higher than the rest being placed every
^\ poces(p. iSl).
Classical Topography of the Roman Campagna — I. 205
In fact, the present road passes over the same stream as the aqueduct upon
a bank of water deposit, through which a tunnel has been cut for the
passage of the stream, so that the leakage must have been extensive.
Just before the stream is crossed, a reticulatum wall is seen in the bank
on the right of the road, which soon runs to the back of the modern
fountain and disappears. It is just possible that this is a part of the
aqueduct of the Aqua Claudia, which might be expected to be seen above
ground at this point ; but certainty is impossible without excavation.
Being slightly curved, it may be nothing more than a portion of a large
circular tomb.
On the N. side of the modern track ran the ancient road, supported on
a causeway above the flat ground. Two or three courses of its N. sup-
porting wall of opus quadratum may be seen by descending into the
garden immediately below. At Cavamonte it crosses the road coming
from the Ponte Lucano by way of Corcolle and Passerano and con-
tinuing past Zagarolo to join the other main route from Praeneste to
Rome, which is, in fact, that at present in use, the deverticulum which
leaves the Via Labicana at S. Cesareo (p. 267). This road (now called the
" Maremmana inferiore") runs from Corcolle to Zagarolo along the bottom
of a deep valley, and is certainly ancient, being a necessary means of com-
munication for this district, especially as Corcolle, Passerano, and Zagarolo
(p. 267) are, to judge from their appearance and from other indications,
probably the sites of ancient towns, whether the names generally applied
to them, Querquetula, Scaptia, and Pedum, really belong to them or no.
The questions as to the sites of Querquetula and Scaptia cannot be
discussed here. Pedum, like the other two, was an ancient Latin city,
appearing in the early wars between Rome and her neighbours, and being
finally captured by L. Furius Camillus in B.C. 339 (Livy, viii. 12, Fasti
Capit.y After this date it is only mentioned once, and that is in Pliny's
catalogue of the lost cities of Latium, but the name apparently clung to
the district. Cicero {ad Att. ix. 18) mentions a villa of Caesar's near
Pedum, and Tibullus had an estate there. Horace {Epist. i. 4, 2) says
to him. Quid nunc te dicam facere in regione Pedana ? The scholiast on
the passage remarks that the district lay between Tibur and Praeneste,
and according to some took its name from the tomb of one Pedanus,
according to others, from an old town (no longer existing) called Pedum.
Other indications as to its site are given by Dionysius and Livy in
2oe
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describing Coriolanus's attacks, after his exile, on the cities which remained
faithful to Rome. The former (viii. 19) tells us that Coriolanus marched
from Labicum (Montecompatri) to Pedum, and, having taken it, proceeded
to Corbio (probably Rocca Priora) ; while Livy (ii. 39) makes Coriolanus
capture Corbio, ViteUia, Trebium and Labicum, then Pedum, and then
march directly on Rome. From these accounts it would seem more likely
that Pedum lay somewhere in the Alban Hills, though the statement of
the scholiast (whatever its value may be) tells against this view ; and it is
further to be borne in mind that the Gauls, returning from Praeneste,ii
360 B.C., encamped there (Livy, vii. 1 2), and that we find it in alliance with
Praeneste and Tiburin 339 u.c, so that it may have been situated
to Praeneste. Any attempt to fix the site more closely is, however, in thi
present state of our knowledge, quite useless ; and this is the case with
regard to most of the smaller old Latin cities mentioned by our authorities.
In the district with which we are now dealing, we have a certain number
of names, and a certain number of sites which are either certainly or prob-
ably ancient ; but we have not the information which will enable us to fit
the names to the sites with any reasonable degree of probability, and,
unless inscriptions should come to our aid, we are not very likely to apquire
such evidence as we need.
The road between the Osteriola and Zagarolo presents no features
interest, except that a short way from the Osteriola, on the left, there is a'
curious rock-cut columbarium built into the hillside, the interior of whicl
is faced with opus reticulatum. The modern road ascends and pass
through Zagarolo, but the ancient road probably kept to the valley to the]
W. until it reached the road from S. Cesareo to Palestrina close to th(
Ponte Terrenchiuso (p. 2G7).
Besides the Zagarolo road, another, still preserving its ancient pa^
ment, diverges to the right at the Osteriola, ascending steeply to the Coll
del Pero. This long narrow hill was covered with buildings in ancient
times. Almost all the remains belong, however, to the Imperial perii
but it is not improbable that this was the site of some village of that ai
At one house are columns and architectural fragments in tufa a
peperino, and in the vineyard below it an extensive mosaic pavement
black cubes with larger white pit^' ' * '
and roughness of the cubes sln'
turned up. At the top of the hi ii :
I
Classical Topography of the Roman Campagna.— I. 207
opus reticulatum with quoins of tufa, and belonging therefore, in all prob-
ability, to the first century of the Empire. Its internal diameters are
respectively 44'50 m. and 2990 m. The outermost wall preserved,
with niches and doors, is i m. thick. Outside it are traces of a passage
2-50 wide, but the outer enclosing wall has perished.' Beyond it are two
large water reservoirs in opus reticulatum, the remains of a columbarium,
which when found had two urns in each niche but has since been very
much damaged, and various other remains. A cippus has been built into
a gateway here, bearing an inscription, which, though apparently not
unknown to archaeologists (I was told that it had been seen and copied by
Garrucci and others), has never, so far as I know, been published. I there-
fore give it here,
C IVLIO C F PAL
SEVERO VIXIT
ANNIS XXVIII ET
CIVLIO- AVG LIB-
CRESCENTI CLARANO
PATRI IN FRO P L
IN AGR' P LXV
The cippus is of travertine, and the surface is somewhat worn, so that
my copy, made rather hurriedly, is not accurate in the matter of punctua-
tion. The end of the fifth line I could not read, and give the letters as
they appeared to me. The cippus is rounded at the head, and measures
33 cm. across, 47 high, and 13 thick ; the letters of each line are 25 mm.
high. At Cavamonte was found C.I.L. xiv. 3840.
After leaving the Osteriola the road runs through a deep cutting in the
rock, which has been further deepened in recent times ; in some places the
ancient pavement is seen six feet above the modern road. The construc-
tion of opus quadratum in a crevice high up on its N.W. side, which
Nibby i^Analisi. i. 444J attributed to an aqueduct, is probably intended to
fill up a crack in the rock, so as to prevent earth from falling on the road.
A string course of three blocks of opus quadratum close by looks as if it
may have supported an inscription. On this side there is the square
* A pUn of Uii* uniihithcnlrc wn* nude by Palladia {Portrolia nv. f. 8', of h[s drawings m the
lifap^oTlhe Sodely Of Architects)] in his time the vineyard in which it stands belonged to
(InVciC MR^ 1^- Ifce
sacABpobC ne fandge fcy- wttcb ^ sodBB
i next Qfiae. jwt &d tbe X.W. frf* Ae t^^
Amato oa the Vb PxaenestoB. ic an aqwed aa bridge li^k of «pB
qnanutani stRBgncBBo ■in bnoKKKX. Its total sidlM Ss^ feoBCia^
4-44 BL at lheBP|^i»tfcit>i»po8whfc that mandcnttiMgs ten it ^fW
a raod. vnleSB it took c«o a q w JB cis side bv ade. p^fc tyi tW .A^
Oaatfia and tbe Aaia Xotw.
Tbe bridge bjr wkicfc the sane fod creases the laviw jna S of Gilt
cano was atsD origiaaDf baft io fineopns qaadfatnm td dark brown tnfa.
and s lre ng tb cned hfier with bri ck p or k . Its total thTrtnrsf! ts 3-62 a.
Fafarccd (/V A^mu. Dbs. L Tab. I.) and Nibby iAm»iin, L 473) attxibete il
to the Aqua CTaodia. and the d q u wi t which I have fauod leaemblo tSot
of tfa& water. On other growod s , how g » a. I fifaoold be tncBned to attri-
bute it to the Aoio Novns ; but die upesGaa is one of gieai ^SBcnhy
and cooqilexiQr, and aaoat be d iac n« B d hoe.
The br»(^ to the X. of Gallkano, maiked by Fabretti as a bfidfc
of Iho -ii:tn.-.iLii;t of the C>,;;.-iis, ji cr^-.ifeiy mc-iiein.
The two bridges S. of Gallicano are connected b>' an extremdy deqi
rt>ck cutting tlirough the Colie Collafri, which bears ik* certain traces of
antiquity, but can hardly fail to be ancient- For, besides the fact that
Galticano probably cxcupies the site of some ancient town (thou^ an
itlcntificalion is impossible}, the road which we have been following so
fur continues eastwards to join the modem road to Poli (itself of ancient
orijii") near the Villa Catena, forming an important artery of communica-
tion. That the same was the case in ancient times is certain from the
existence of tombs along its course (one, to the N.E. of Gallicano, is a
tnussive structure of concrete, faced originally with square blocks of tufa),
uikI fn>m the fact that the so-called Ponte di Terra about a mile further
on i>i a natural bridge over a stream, the aperture for which has been .
v.m-fiillv onlargo.1 by the hand of man. The regularity and fineness of
tin- work niako it impossible to attribute it to any but Roman times,
and. further, by the side of it there is a specus 60 cm. wide, cut in the
rock, of the shape generally adopted in ancient times ; used doubtless for
Classical Topography of the Roman Campagna. — I. 211
The other hills on each side of the road, now entirely covered with
vineyards, were, notwithstanding the diflficulties of communication caused
by the deep ravines, mostly running parallel to the road, and cutting up
what would otherwise be one tableland into many independent sections,
fairly thickly sprinkled with houses in ancient times, some the villas of the
rich, others the dwellings of cultivators. The thickness of population
naturally increased as Praeneste was approached, but owing to the fact that
the land here has been so long under cultivation, the remains of ancient
buildings are now in most cases insignificant. It is noteworthy, however,
that whereas the Romans lived upon their land, the modern vine-grower,
even in a district comparatively elevated — the general level of the hill-tops,
and of the road itself at this point, is quite 300 m. (about 1000 feet) above
sea-level — finds it necessary, for reasons of health, to return to one of the
villages, Gallicano, Zagarolo, or Palestrina itself, to sleep, and this not
merely in the summer, but all the year through.
At the Casa Sterpara, a little further along the road on the right, the
inscription C.LL, xiv. 3389 (a sepulchral inscription cut on a slightly
curved block of marble, which was placed in the facade of a round tomb)
and fragments of 3386 may still be seen built into the wall. Both were
found here in 1855 or 1856 in removing the ancient pavement from the
road. I was informed that a large headless statue was found here in 1898
under the modern road, and bought by a stone-cutter at Palestrina.
Another sepulchral inscription existed till recently at the house on the
opposite side of the road, but had recently been removed to Gallicano
(the inscription not being well enough preserved to be thought worth
keeping) and the marble carved into the arms of the town and placed
above the public fountain.
About a mile further on is the church of the Madonna della Stella, just
at the twenty-first mile of the ancient road, and about two miles from
Praeneste. Before reaching it a tomb of late date is passed on the right.
Near here were found C.LL, xiv. 3034, 331 1.
From La Stella to the Ponte Sardone the ancient pavement is in a fair
state of preservation — at one point near the Villa Frattini I measured the
width as 4-31 m. (14^ feet). It lies abandoned just on the N.E. of the
modern road. The steady ascent still continues, and, after a slight turn
just at La Stella, the road runs absolutely straight. The valleys on each
side of the road now become much wider and shallower, dying away
P 2
The British School at Rome.
The road now turns, and ascends the opposite hill fairly steeply ii
S.E. direction ; upon the slope there are some remains of the ancient
pavement. Before reaching the top of the ridge it crosses the line of
modern road, and runs within the enclosure wall of the large Palazzo
Pastorc (the summer residence of the German College), which is pai
built upon a large water reservoir. Beyond the Palazzo it falls into the
line of the modern road, and the line of blocks of its retaining wait is
visible at the side of the present road. Here it has reached 275 m.
above sea level, 100 m. above its level at the Ponte Amato. It continues
to run straight on in the same direction, ascending gradually to a height
of 425 m. above sea level, until it ends just below the town of Palestrina,
keeping along the summit of a long narrow hill with a deep ravine on each
side. This alternation of ridges and deep valleys is characteristic of this
district, and it is to this that we owe the existence of so many remains of
the great aqueducts, which, in order to keep them at a fairly uniform level
without the use of siphons, had to be alternately carried on viaducts and
through tunnels.
This straight line of road was flanked by numerous tombs, of which
some remains exist, increasing, naturally, in number as Praeneste is ap-
proached. A considerable number of inscriptions belonging to these
tombs have been found : C.I.L. xiv. 2842-5 near S. Pastore ; 3397 in tl
Vigna Tranquilti close to the road near S. Pastore ; 2940, 3345, 3346,
the Villetta near S. Pastore.
Rather less than a mile from S. Pastore, on the left of the road, are the
remains of a large and lofty square mass of concrete, the core of a tomb ;
and a little further on the ancient pavement of the road is seen. On the
CoUe Caroso, to the N.E., are two groups of remains in opus reticulatui
belonging, perhaps, to an extensive villa. To the N.E. again, on the hH
known as Le Colonnelle, some interesting finds were made in 1S87 {Nt
Scav. 1887, 121). Some walls of opus reticulatum. covered with fii
painted stucco belonging to early Imperial times, and others built of stni
rectangular blocks of stone, with binding courses of bricks, were dt9;
covered ; also the half of a funeral cippus {C.I.L. xiv. 4276), a roui
leaden urn with inscription {ib. 4277) and several brick stamps (CJJL. xil
p. 498, ad n. 4091). Other objects which were said to have been found
the same place— some skeletons,asword, a bronze helmet, and a ring — r
not forthcoming. Near Gallicano w-
:ient
M
ich
I
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altogether as Palestrina is reached. The name Valle Vigesimo, whid
belongs to a valley just beyond La Stella on the N.E., recalls the Iwentid
mile of the ancient road, which would fail, as a matter of fact, about a mile
on the Rome side of the Madonna della Stella.' At the top of this v-alley,
W. of the Casa Caffarella, are some remains in reticulatum and brick, and
at the house itself some fragments of marble decoration. Here was found
C.I.L. xiv. 3404, A little further on Cecconl {Sloria di Palestrina, p. 89)
notes the existence of a tomb by the road, and the discovery within the vine-
yards of the remains of a fine building, perhaps the tomb of a certain M.
Ulpius, the fragmentary inscription, C.I.L. 3366, having been found here.
To the N. is the district called Lc Tende, approached by a road runnio]
N.N.W,, descending steeply into the valley and ascending on the other sid(
past the remains of a water reservoir (Le Grottelle). According to Cecct
[pp. cit. p. 19, note 36) and Fernique {Pr^nesie. in the Bibltotheque des &co
Fran^aises, fasc. 17. p- 122) this road is ancient It probably ran, as FemiqiH
suggests, to TivoH, joining the road which now leads to Poll near the Villa
Catena. In the district of Le Tende the inscriptions, C.I.L. xiv. 2939,3400.
3401 (all sepulchral), and the water pipe 3043 were found ; also, but nearer
the Porta San Martino of Palestrina. the water pipes 3039, 3041, 3042.-
No. 3039 gives us the name of the owner of the property, P. Acidius Attianus
— the rest merely bear the makers' names. On the Colle d' Oddo, sti
further N.. C.I.L. xiv. 2985 was discovered.
Some 400 mitres further on, the Torrione Frocina. a large brick tomtil
of the ornamental style of the 2nd and 3rd centuries of the Empire, is
passed on the right, It is most likely the tomb referred to by Ligorio,
Cod. Bodl. 36'. By it diverges an ancient devorticuhim, which runs S.Wj_
above the S.E. end of the Valle di Korea (or Folca) Rotonda, and 1
turns southwards and reaches at I Prati (near which were found the sepi
chral inscriptions C.LL. xiv. 2833,3321} the deverticulum from the ^
Labicana (p. 267). So far it is certainly ancient, as the cuttings made for it
show. The fountain of Boccapiana has some ancient pavingstones, and close
to it in the hill-side is a water-channel, or else a drain for a building
on the hill above, of which a few traces remain. To the S. of this road
it may be conjectured (though there is at the present time no actual
* From the \'alle V'ige$iiiio,3ccarding lo Cecconi (S/eria di PaleUriiia, p. iS, n. 34), aoM
rood ascended to the Cotic Cappelle and Le Tende. Feiha.ps it went on along the Colic S. !
to Galticano, though he docs not say so.
' The inscripliotis on these pipes ate republished in C.U.. xv. 78S8. 7881, 7886. 7S87.
Stilj_
:e, is
orio,
th^H
e V^^
Classical Topography of the Roman Camtal
-I.
evidence on the spot) to have run on past a ruin known as il Muraccio
dei Prati to join the Via Labicana itself at the Torraccio di Mezzaselva
(see Cecconi, i.e.). According to the same authority,' the road which
diverges to the right just before the Ponte Sardone is reached and
joins that last mentioned on the Colle di S. Pietro ' is also ancient ; and
so are the two roads which diverge on the left (N.N.E.) side of the Via
Praenestina, one of which runs parallel to that previously mentioned, past
the Madonna di Catavasso to Le Tende, and over the Colle Ruzzano to
S. Giovanni in Camporazio,^ while the other turns due E, behind the Villa
Frattini traversing the district called Ceciliano and the Vigne PetrelH,
where Cecconi records the discovery of many sepulchral urns and glandes
plumbeat, dating perhaps from the siege by Sulla {he. at.), and ascends
towards Castel S. Pietro, the arx of Praeneste,
To the Vigna Rodi or Burri, which lies between the two roads leading
to Le Tende, belong r././.. xiv. 2948, 2951, 3059, 3065, 3105,3170, 3191,
3192, 3203, 3351, 3355, 3430a. At the Villa Frattini are preserved 3335,
3356,3363,3373,3391,3395,3409. Almost all these inscription.s belong
to tombs and are of no special importance. The provenance of the Villa
Frattini group (with the exception of 3373 which was found here near the
road) is unknown, and some may have been brought from Rome, No.
3393 was also found near here in mending the road.
Beyond the Villa Frattini, on the left, is the Casa Carletti, which is
partly built into the walls of a Roman building, The path diverging by il
is shown, by the remains of paving which exist, to be of ancient origin.
On the W. side of it are the remains of a villa, including a very fine
cryptoporticus, the roof of which, with its decorations (paintings on a white
ground, divided into panels by decorative borders, of very good style) is
still well preser\'ed, and deserves to be properly excavated and taken care
of. After a short distance it divides : one branch goes towards Colle
Martino, which is crowned by a large villa, and is stated by Cecconi
' There are no tnces of pavemcnl in silu in this road, but several loose pawngslones, and al
Cuale S. Pieiro there are a gietit number ; while 1 was ciedibly infoimcd that pavement still
exists in silu in the ruail froni Tonione Kiocina to S. Pietio.
» Here were found C.I.I.. niv, 1851, jSgS, *9l8, 3316, 3317 ; also the bricltstamjis C.I.L. iv.
1344, 2363 and another, which I believe to be unpublished, /HPPOC I 1 Thi;ie is here,
bestdts ihi: remains of the church of S. Pietro, a very laige and well preserved water reservoir, also
trftces of a villa decorated with very fine marbles.
* Nibby jind Gell in their maps make this road keep along the Colle li' Oddb and the Colle
Tondo, crossing the stream W. uf the latter.
214 T'^"^ Bkitisii School at Rome.
(p. 20, n. 37) to be ancient : the other goes northwards, and must pas? not
far from Porta S. Martino(thc path issuing from this gate does not, so far as
I could tell, follow the line of an ancient road), and then below S. Francesco
(where traces of its pavement were discovered some j'ears ago ; see
Femique, f/ cit. p. 122) to join the road to the arx (Caste! S. Pietro).
Cecconi also states that an ancient road ran from the W. end of the Ponte
Sardoni to the Fonte Forma le Mura and thence to I Prati and the Via
Labicana. It is quite possible, though perhaps not ver>- probable, that so
many ancient roads should have existed in the immediate neighbourhood
of Palestrina in ancient times : and Cecconi bears a good reputation for
accuracy. At the present time, however, in most cases the pavement has
entirely disappeared, not even the broken fragments of sclce being left to
tell the tale. The road now passes over the Ponte Sardone, a long em-
bankment, just ox-er 10 metres in thickness at present. The ancient facing
of the N.N.E, side is. however, nowhere visible, so that the accuracy of
the measurement is doubtful. The S.S-\V, side shows a mixture of stj-les ;
the W, end is faced with opus incertum of the Republican epoch, the
centre with brickwork with projecting buttresses joined by arches, the E.
end with mediaeval work of small blocks of tu^
At the E. end of the bri<^ on the N. side of the road, is a gigantic
platform, with two different levels, (constructed of reticulatum on the S.
side and opus quadratum and incertum on the W.), intended to support a
villa. It contains a large water reser\oir only recently filled up, Femique
(p. 119) says that it is in such a good state of preser\-ation, that it could-
be used now, the water pipes being apparently still in their places. Under
this platform, or further up the \-alle\- spanned bj- the Ponte Sardone, was
found C.IJ.. xiv. 2994.
The church of S. Giovanni, on the S. of the road, is built of fr^ments
of buildings of Roman date To the W. of it is a small house, built upon
an ancient arched building of opus incertum. Just oppMSsite to the church
on the left of the r\>ad, are traces of brick tombs,' Here the Via Praenes-
tina is cross«t1 almost at right angles b\~ a road which ascends due N. to
the Porta S. Martino, in which unite two separate dex-erticula, both from
the Via L^bican.t. One, diverging at S. Cesareo beyond Colonna, is the
present rvxid frv^m Rome, and is just about as long as the Via Praenestina
itself; the other leaves the Vi.i Labicana about 5 miles further on, and
Classical Topography of the Roman CAMrAONA.— I. 215
runs up straight to Praeneste. but is slightly longer. There are a few stones
of the pavement preserved at the crossing.
Near this junction of roads have been found the following inscriptions ;
C.l.L. xiv. 2891-2893, 3952 (in the Vigna Soleti. to the S. of the Via
Praenestina. between it and the road from S. Cesareo, at about 3CXJ
yards from the bifurcation); 2997, 2999, 3013 (near the Madonna dell*
Aquila, on the E. side of the road formed by the two deverticula from the
Via Labicana). Cecconi (p. 86) speaks of the existence of ruins of a
villa, in which mosaic pavements were discovered, at a place called Forma
!e Mura, to the W. of S. Agapito, in the property of the Petrini family.
The Via Praenestina now crosses the centre of the lower town, while
the other road runs on northwards to the upper city and the Temple of
Fortune. Its pavement is deeply buried, but its existence is known from
various discoveries, and it reappears on the E, side of the modern town,
near the Ponte dell' Ospedalato, at 150 m. above the modern road. Its
further course, until it joins the Via Labicana in the Valley of the Sacco,
which is itself soon absorbed in the Via Latina, is briefly discussed below
(p. 2l8n.); but it is not an integral part of our subject. The town of
Praeneste, too, lies outside the scope of our present investigation.
VIA LABICANA.
I. — FkOM THE Porta Maggiore to Centocelle
{from the First to tlu Fifth Milestone).
The Via Labicana diverges to the right from the Via Praenestina just
inside the Porta Maggiore. As its name indicates, it ran, in the first
instance, to Labici ; but both the site of this place and the course of the
road have long formed matter of controversy among topographers. I hope
to demonstrate below (p. 33S) that the road passed to the S.. and not to the
N. of Colonna, and that Rosa and Dessau are therefore justified in placing
Labici at Montecompatri.
An even greater difficulty has been that of reconciling the indications
given by the Itineraries with the actual facts. Strabo (v. 3. 9, p, 237) speaks
of Labici as lying on the right of the road, at a distance of some fifteen
miles from Rome, and of the Via Labicana as falling into the Via Latina
216
liit: British Schuol at Rome.
at the station called Ad Ptctas : jrpoeiaiv etr'i irXci'oiK tuk fKttrov xai tUoat
trraSiiov koI •rr\'}a'ida'a<ra t^ Xaffix^, iraXaim xtiV^ti KaTea^raafiimf,
KdfUvw h' €<fe' 5yfrou<;, touto fiiv koI to Tovo'tcXov iir £c^iok awaXtira,
TiXei/T^ Si Trpot tos' HiKTas icaX Tt}v XaTtvijv 6U)^ti Bi ti)« 'Pdi/ifj? to j^tapt'op
TOVTO Siaico(riov^ ical Sexa a-TaSiovv. The Antoniiie itinerarj- gives the
first few stations of the two roads as follows:
Via Lativa.
Ab Urbe ad D£<nmuni nu p- k.
Kobmaria m. p. iii. (udc MS. F. {let
Parthey's edition) vi, ).
Ad Piclas in. p. itviL (one MS. xviii.],
Conipitum m. p. xv. (one MS. xii.).
Inttal in Lavtcaiuni.
VtA Lavicana.
Ad QoinUrau oi. p. xv.
Ad Piclas m. p. x.
CocDjHtuin m. p. xv.
While the Tabula I'eutingeriana varies somewhat :
Via Lavica-sa.
Ad QiuDiaiiis ȴ.
Ad Slaiufts iii.
Ad Paclas vii.
Ad Kviiun V.
Conpilo Anognino :
The distances then may be stated as follows : From Rome to Ad
Pictas by the Via Latina, 30 miles ; by the Via Labicana 2$ miles.*
From Rome to Ad Bivium by the Via Latina, 35 miles (?) ; by the Via
Labicana, 30 miles. From Rome to Compitum Anagninum by the Via
Latina, 45 miles ; by the Via Labicana, 40 miles ; from Praeneste to
Compitum Anagninum, 24 miles (Itin. Ant.).*
According to these indications, the Via Labicana ought to be found to
be five miles shorter than the Via Latina ; but, as a matter of fact, there
is less than a mile of difference between them at their point of junction at
S. Ilario (see p. 280), which is just under 30 miles from Rome by the Via
Labicana, and just over 30 by the Via Latina, so that its identification
with the station of Ad Bivium, and the reference of the name to the meeting
of these two roads, and not of some by-road from Velletri or elsewhere,
seems certain. This being so, the numbering of the milestones further
along the road towards Casilinum, where it joins the Via Appia, will agree
Classical Topography of the Roman Campagna. — I. 217
with that of the first portion of either ; and the statement in CJ.L. x. p. 695,
that the milestones follow the numeration of the Via Labicana, and not
that of the Via Latina, falls to the ground. The question of the compara-
tive importance of the two roads, and of the name to be given to the road
in which they unite, from Ad Bivium to Casilinum, is not very easy to
solve.
The passage of Strabo may be taken as decisive as regards the practice
of his day, and may even mean that the Via Labicana did not in his time
go further than Ad Pictas. It is indeed probable that the Via Latina was
constructed first, leading as it did through the pass of Algidus, a posi-
tion of great military importance, and very easy to defend when once
occupied.
I have conjectured below (p. 241) that the Via Labicana was originally
the direct road from Rome to Tusculum, that it was then prolonged to
Labici (p. 253), and finally became a road for through traffic, very likely
actually superseding the Via Latina, as, while the distance is the same, the
latter at the pass of Algidus attains an elevation 650 feet higher than the
" summit level " of the Via Labicana. As regards the Via Appia, the
journey by the Via Labicana is only 6 miles longer to their point of
junction at Casilinum, and by following the latter the troublesome journey
by boat through the Pomptine Marshes (which was customary until the
road was made through by Trajan) ^ and the mountainous country between
Terracina and Formiae would have been avoided. It is to be noted that
the Antonine Itinerary says expressly that it is the Via Latina which falls
into the Labicana. The two roads were united under one curator in
imperial times. In the inscriptions of the curatores (collected by Cantarelli,
Bull, Com. 1 89 1, 112) we find that sometimes both roads are mentioned,
sometimes one only, and in the latter case more frequently the Latina.
In one instance only do we find the curator a man, of equestrian rank
(C/.Z. X. 5393) ; in all other cases the cura is held by men of senatorial
rank who had already served the office of praetor.
. ^ It seems to have been usual in the first century A.D. (see C/.Z. x. p. 684, Strabo v. 3. 6.
p. 233, Horace, ScU, i. 5), though the road was apparently in existence from what Strabo says :
vXiK^ ^' TappoKlpfis fi€iZi(otrri M r^t 'P«6;ii}t 9apa$i$\itrat rp 69^ rp 'Aw(f 8i«pv| ....
vXciroi 84 /idKurra iiJkv v^iermp Airr* ififidtrras &^* iwipas iiefialpup vpmlas koI fioZlCuv rh Xoivhv
rf M^, &XX& vol /if ^ iifiipav ^v/iovKku 8' iiiu6¥io¥^ Why this troublesome mode of progression
was adopted does not seem clear, unless because the road was often impracticable, as De La
Blanchire thinks ( 7Vrra^i>f^, in the Bibliothiqtu des J^coles Franfaises^ p. So sqq.).
2i8 The British School at Rome.
Besides the junction at Ad Bivium, we ha\-e to account for another
junction of the two roads at Ad Pictas, 2; miles from Rome by the Via
Labicana (the Antonine Itjoeiar^' is clearly wrong with regartj to the
distances on the Via Latina). If we suppose that Ad Pictas was really a
station on the Via Latina, and that a branch ran to it from the Via Labicana
(the main road certainij- does not meet the Via Latina before S. llario —
Ad Bivium), we are able to reconcile the passage of Strabo already quoted
with the facts. In that case we may plat^ Ad Pictas at the Fontanile delle
Macere, which is nearly 24 miles from Rome by the Via Latina and about
2$ by the Labicana, taking a de^■e^ticu!um which di\'erges to the S.
about the 23rd mile. Rosa (Bh//. Inst. i8;6, 154) puts Ad Pictas on
the hili to the E^ which would make the distances respectively 25 and
36 miles.
There now remains Compitum Anagninum, which must be placed at the
Osteria delta Fontana below Anagni, which is 40 miles distant from Rome,
but not more than 18 or 19 from Praeneste* Here, according to the
.Antonine Itinerary-, the Via Latina fell into the Labicana. The statement
may be merely an error {Cld.. x. p. 696), but it is worthy of note that
while a branch of the Via Latina comes to join the Labicana at S. llario, a
road goes straight on. in the same line which the road has followed for
several miles, as far as the railway station of Anagni, beyond which I have
not followed it It has now no remains of the ancient pavement, which
has probably been broken up to form the well preserved mediaeval paving
of pieces of limestone. It would fall naturally into the Via Labicana
precisely at Compitum,
It is thus probable that all the three junctions of the Via Latina and
Labicana which we find mentioned had a real existence, and that the fact
that these roads met in no less than three points at post stations (besides
other less important intercommunications) led to the confusion which we
find in the tables of distances.
The Via Labicana traverse^ the plain as far as Torre Nuova. Here
' This distanee is calcnUled citbei along (he modern road from PBlmrim to Valmonloae
( which follov-s the line of an indent road ) and thence aloi^ the present Via Caalim to Piombinan
(where the \'ia Labicana probably rejoins the modem raad| and on to the Osteiia della Fontana, M
along the \"n delia Seh-a (an andent road accoiding lo Fabretli, Dt Aifmis, map, opp. p. 90,
Chaupy, .Vailwn ot C^mfagiu d'Hira.-t, iiu 467I, which divefges at S. Banolomco frooi the Cave
Toad, thence to the modem Ma Casilina and on as bef>»e. I have not, howerer, been able to work
out the problem ihoroughlf . The modem Via Caalioa from S. Cesaieo to I^mbiraua follows in
all prubabiliiy the line of an ancient road.
Classical ToPOUKArnv of the Roman Campagna. — I.
219
the modern Via Casilina ' diverges to the left, while the ancient road, now
entirely abandoned and not easily traceable, goes to the right, and soon
reaches the N. slopes of the Alban Hills, which it crosses in an E.S.E.
direction, following roughly lh« boundary between the pasture and corn
land and the vineyards. Between Colonna and Montecompatri, and close
to the former village, at the station of Ad Quintanas, it turns due E., and
continues in this direction until the station of Ad Statuas (S. Cesareo) is
reached. Here it turns S.E. again, and runs in a straight direction for
about five miles, traversing undulating country, and rising and falling with
the ground. The highest level it reaches is 360 m. (about 1 180 feet) above
the sea. At the twenty-third mile it turns due E., and then a mile further
slightly S, of E. again. It keeps this direction, descending gradually
through easy country, until S. Ilario is reached. For the last six miles of
its course the pavement is preserved intact ; sometimes covered by a thin
layer of soil, sometimes exposed to view. From S. Ilario it must have
followed the valley in which the line from Veiletri to Segni runs, as far as
the station of Segni, close to which is the large mediaeval castle of I'iom-
binara which probably marks the site of Sacriportus (Nibby, Ana/isi, iii.
50). Here it probably crossed the Sacco and fell into the line now
followed by the modern Via Casilina ; but the valley of the Sacco is so
subject to inundations that no traces of the road need be looked for above
ground at this point.
The most difficult part of the road is that in which it rises from the
plain to the hills ; from the point where it crosses the Via Cavona to the
point where, just S. of the village of Colonna, it strikes the road which
leads from Frascati to the Osteria dclla Colonna on the modern Via
Casilina. It ascends on the whole 600 feet in five miles, continually rising
and falling and rising again. Deep cuttings through the hills, massive
supporting walls and great bridges, such as wt see on other roads, are
conspicuous by their absence. The constructors of the road seem to have
taken tlie ground as they found it, and the gradients must often have been
steep and inconvenient for traffic. Cultivation has, however, done much to
conceal the traces of the road, and renders it sometimes very difficult or
even impossible to fix its course exactly. Its abandonment is very likely
due to the troubles of the Middle Ages, as we may gather from the
low how old the ne
io thai it may \ie &
lie is— it certainly does not go back very far i Nibby docs n
invention of the list fifty yeais.
230
The British School at Roafe.
remains of mediaeval fortifications wliich wc shall observe along its
course.
After leaving the Porta Maggiore the modern road runs for some way
between walls, and then crosses to the \.E. side of the Naples railway.
In this first part of its course it was flanked on the left by the low arches
of the Anio Vetus (see Bull. Inst. 1861, p. 73, for their discovery when the
railway was madej, of which no trace is now visible, and on the right by
those of the Claudia and Anio Novus, and probably also of the Marcia,
Tepula, and lulia (Lanciani, Forma Urbis, sheet 32). In this district, " iuxta
aquaeductum," was the cemetery of St Castulus {BuU. Arch. Clir. 1865, 9).
Between the railway and the aqueduct of the Acqua Felice are the remains
(now inclosed by a wall) of the tomb of the Fonteii, which faced the Via
Labicana, excavated in 1880 {Bull. Com. Arck. 1880, 142). The inscrip-
tions have been removed to the Museo delle Terme {Gtiida del Museo,
p. 65). In making a branch line from the Pisa to the Florence railway,
which passes under the road here, and runs due N., many discoveries
were made {Not Scav. 1889, 339, 365, 401 ; 1890, 33, 115, 156 ; 1891, 288).
The pavement of the road was brought to light at a distance of 30 m.
from the aqueduct, and 270 m. below the present ground level, flanked
by tombs constructed in opus quadratum. Many inscriptions belonging
to the latter were found. The road had been much ruined by the
pozzolana quarries which had been made below it. In these a few loculi
were found, showing that, when disused, they served for burials. An
extensive network of id/k/itw// (small passages cut in the rock for use as
water reservoirs) was found in the hill occupied by the casino of the Vigna
di S. Marcello.
On the right is the Vigna Lepri or Serventi, in which were found C.I.L.
vi. 3297, 3569 ; also an inscription of a freedman of an Arab king Samsi-
ceramus, illustrated byParibeni in Bull. Com. 1900, 33 (see also 238). A
little farther on, at about the second mile of the road, an ancient road
diverged to the right (Lanciani, Commentari di Frontino, p. 88.) The pave-
ment was discovered when the railway to Albano was made in 1890 {Not.
Scav. 1890, 11). It is now called Via del Mandrione, and follows the
arches of the aqueducts as far as the Porta Furba, where it joins the
Via Tuscolana, a road about the antiquity of which there is considerable
controversy. About a kilometre along the Via del Mandrione the remains
of a villa and of a deverticulum running to the Via Labicana were
\
Classical Topography of the Roman Campagna. — I. 221
discovered {Not. Scav. 1889, 341 ; 1890, 34).' The main road continues
to run between walls, and presents no features of interest until the descent
to the valley of the small stream called La Marranella is reached.
Here traces of the pavement of the ancient road are visible at a
slightly higher level than that of the modern one, and remains of a
tomb are seen on the right. . On the left, in the Vigna Apolloni,
and extending also under the road to the Vigna Marolda Pililli, a
Jewish cemetery was discovered in 1882 (Marucchi in Diss, dtl Ace. Pont.
^rcA. S. ii., vol. ii. 497; Guide des Catacombes romaines, 224). A water
reservoir was found in the Vigna Apolloni in 1884 {Not. Scav, 1884, 238),
This vineyard formerly belonged to the Aldobrandini family. S. of the
road may be seen the last arches towards Rome of the aqueduct of
Alexander Severus. At the bottom of the valley the road crosses the
stream, and immediately afterwards is crossed by the new military road.
Excavations led to the discovery of the pavement of the ancient road
slightly to the left of that of the modern one, at a depth of 3 m. below the
present surface, and of tlie remains of tombs {Not. Scav. 1889, pp. 274,
401). After crossing the stream a road now known as Vicolo dei Carbonari
diverges to the left: the cutting made for it through the rock clearly
indicates that it is ancient. After about half a mile it turns due E. and
falls into the line of the prolongation of the Vicolo del Pigneto (see p. 1 52).
On the E, of this road the Staff Map marks "ruderi." Nothing remains
standing, but there are bricks and marble lying about. A fragment of a
tablet of gray marble, probably from a columbarium, bearing the following
inscription in letters 12 mm. high, was found there.
JRIS
•\EOLDI0I
/XORI
The last letter of the second line is a p or an f,
' This would correspond with ihe road mttrkeii by Kiepert {Carta JelP Italia Cenlralt) as
leaving the Via Latina at the Vigna Aquari, and running E.N.E. post Ihe Molino 5. Pio to the Via
Labicana, which it reaches a little to the W. of Tone Pignatlara. There are a few ancient paving-
stones (not in situ) in Ihe seclioo between Ihe Via Appia Nuova aod the Via del Mandrione ; hul I
am inclined to think ihat it &lls belter into the line of Ihe Vicolo dello Scorpionc, which (thnugh
retaiiung no traces of aniiquily) seems to correspond lo Ihe line of an ancient roaci, which would
have passed ihtough the Porta Metiosia of The Aurelian ivatl
223 The British School at Rome.
In tlie Vigna Bartoccini (which was formerly the Vigna Aragni, but
has changed hands within the last twenty years), situated not far from
the bridge over the stream, many discoveries of tombs, sarcophagi, and
inscriptions have been made. In 1 8S4 a tomb chamber was discovered 8 in.
below ground, measuring 250 by 3 m. and containing three sarcophagi
adorned with reliefs {Not Scav. 1884, 424 ; cf 1876. 89 ; 1878, 166; iSrii,
199). Among the inscriptions found in 1891 was one which ran thus—
D. M. Cti. Domili Primilivi qui vix. ann. vii. dieb. vii.fecenint Domitiae
Lavicana viater et lanuaria avia et Cassianus pater et s[o]da/es viae
Lavican^ae], The sodalitas viae Lavicanae was obviously one of the
buria! clubs so common among the lower orders under the Empire.
The modern road now ascends in a curve. The ancient road ran straight,
and about 50 yards N.E. of the modern road. Remains of its pavement and
of the tombs and other buildings which lined it on each side may be seen
in a pozzolana quarry about 200 yards beyond the Vicolo dei Carbonari :
it is apparently running 40 degrees S, of E. Here was, in all probability,
the Vigna Diamanti in which were made the discoveries described in Buil.
Inst. 1842, 4 : a columbarium, between which and the high road ran a " sub-
terranean aqueduct"' about 2 m. high, cut in the rock. Between the
aqueduct and the columbarium were seen traces oPan ancient pavement
rising towards the latter and probably ser\'ing as an approach to it. Here
were found C.I.L. vi. 3199, 16955.
In enlarging this quarry, at a mean depth of 1 8 m. below ground level
five wells were found, each i m. in diameter and over 20 m. in depth, with
footholes cut in the sides to facilitate descent. They contained fragments
of pottery and marble sculptures, among them the statue representing a
satyr playing the flute, now in the Museo delle Terme, and also some
' Ii is possible that Lhis was ihc specus of (he Anio Velus : for Lanciani (Commenlari di
Fronliiio, p. 49, note 1) states that in iSSo Vie saw in the Vigna Marescotti, on the left hand side
of [he modem toad, the .specus of a lai^e aqueduct constructed in opus reticulatum with its sides
coveted with deposit, and which he lielievcd 10 be the Anio Velus. The same aqueduct was,
however, discoveted in 1ES2 near Porta Furba, in making the niilitaiy toad {Nat. Scav. i8Sz, 171,
cf. 66), and af;ain in 1890, both in the culling of the Alhano tailway (NdI, Scav. 1S90, 12) and close
to the point where the railway to Naples crosses the Via Lalina. (Its specus is still viable in the
short tunnel which carries the tailway under the Marrana Mariana. ) It was, further, found 450 m
outside the Porta Maggiore ciossing the Naples railway at tight angles, and then turning chaiply
S.K. at 4S"40 m. above sea level. In this case it would have required arches to cross the valley of
the Marranella, which it would have had to do twice, a proceeding for which there seems to be
no suflicient reason, though it must be confessed that the direction which it takes (Lanciani, Farma
Urhis, 32) does certainly warrant this supjiosition.
Classical Topography of the Roman Campagna. — I. 223
unimportant fragments of sepulchral inscriptions {Not, Scav, 1884, 223;
HQWAg, Fiihrery ii. No. iioi). Further discoveries, including that of an
ustrinutn, are described in Not, Scav, 1885, 20.
The Vigna Marescotti-Colombo, just to the E. of this quarry, contains
many fragments of sarcophagi in marble and terra-cotta. We now reach
the third mile of the ancient road (the milestone, erected by Maxentius,
was discovered in 1687 : C.LL, x. 6882). Just north of it is the Mausoleum,
according to tradition, of Helena, the mother of Constantine.^ It is known
as Torre Pignattara from the earthenware jars (pignatte) used here, as
frequently in constructions of the fourth century, to decrease the weight of
the vault.
Only the N. half of the building now remains ; when complete it
was circular, with eight niches, alternately rectangular and curved. The
entrance on the E. side took the place of one of the former. The roof
was domed. The brickwork is of the early fourth century. See Canina,
Architettura dei Tempi Cristiani (1846), tav. 96, pp. 121, 131. The large
sarcophagus of red porphyry, now in the Vatican (Helbig, Fuhrer^ i.
No. 326), was found within the building.
Within the area of the mausoleum is the small modern church of SS.
Peter and Marcellinus, and below it are the Catacombs which bear the
names of these saints (Marucchi, Catacombes roniaines^ pp. 208 sqq.). A
bas relief found near the Mausoleum in 1728 was in the possession of
Pier Leone Ghezzi (Lanciani in Bull, Com, 1882, p. 224, no. 66).
In the immediate neighbourhood of this mausoleum was the cemetery
of the Equites Singulares. The inscriptions are given in CLL, vi. 3173
sqq. 3912 sqq.; Not, Scav, 1896, 525; 1898, 112. A fragment of a
tombstone of one of them by the entrance to Torre Pignattara, bearing
the following inscription, appears to be unpublished. Above the inscription
^ The common tradition is represented by the Vita Silvestri in the Liber Pofitificalis^ by Bede {De
sexta aetate Mundi), and by Nicephorus Callistiis (viii. 31). The version according to which Helena
was buried in Constantinople (Socrates, i. 17) rests on a misinterpretation of the expression used by
Eusebius (vita Constantini, iii. 47), M r^y fiaffi\*iovctuf v6\i¥. The Liber Pontificalis has (i. 65, ed.
Mommsen) : Eisdem temporibus fecit Augustus Constantinus basilicam beatis martyribus Marcellifto
presbitero et Petro exorcistae inter duos lauros et mysileum^ ubi nuUer ipsius sepulta est Helena
Augusta^ Via Lavicana^ miliario III qui sepulchrum est ex metaUo purphyriticus exculptus
sigillis.
The name ** inter duas lauros" as the name of an imperial domain occurs as early as the time
of TertuUian, who {Apol, 35) speaks of those qui inter duas lauros obsident Caesarem, Marucchi
{Guiae des Catacombes romaines, 213) publishes a graffito (the date of which is not stated) in which
Helena is actually mentioned. It probably belongs to the sixth century or thereabouts.
The British School at Rome.
is a relief, depicting a slave standing to the spectator's left, and a. couch (on
which the dead man was represented as reclining) to the right
The late Henry Stevenson (see his MS. notes, now in the Vatican,
f. 14) copied another fragment in the Vigna Marescotti Colombo, which
runs thus :
Many other sepulchral inscriptions have been found in the neigh-
bouring vineyards. Most of these are in C.I.L. vi. or Kaibel's Inscriptiones
Graecae Ilaliae, but a few unimportant fragments have not apparently
besn noticed. The recensus locontm recentwrum of C.I.L. xiv. at times
gives the numbers of the inscriptions published in C.LL. vi. incorrectly.
and is not always complete. Some unimportant discoveries made by
Mgr, Ludovico Altieri in the tenuta of Torre Fignattara in 1830 are
recorded in Bvll. Inst. 1832,4.
Fabretti {De Aguis, p. 30) states that a road diverging to the right
Just after Torre Fignattara, passing west of the Mausoleum of Alexander
Severus (Monte del Grano) and falling finally into the Via Latina, was
still traceable in his day. It is possible, however, that he is mistaken
as he certainly got the idea of its existence from a probably false
reading in Frontinus (i. 21), Anio vetus citra iv inilliarium, qua a Latina tn
Classical Topography of the Roman Campagna. — I. 225
Lavicanam itur^ etc, ; whereas Lanciani {Commentari di Frontino^ p. 43),
following Biicheler, has, Anio vetus citra iv milliaritim infra novum, qui
a ( Vici) Latina in Lavicanam ijiter arcus traicit, et ipse piscinam /labet.
In the vineyard to the E. of Torre Pignattara are the remains of two
large tombs, one of opua quadratum, the other of concrete ; the latter
has foundations some 6 or 8 feet deep. The orientation of these gives
•
the direction of the road as 40° S. of E., which corresponds with that
found in the quarry 300 yards further back (p. 222), so that the road
must have run straight up the hill, passing to the N. of the present one,
and crossing it just W. of this point. This view, which was held by
Nibby,^ is borne out by the discovery of the pavement of the road in
the Vigna Marescotti, 25 m. from the left edge of the modern road {Not.
Scav. 1882, 113), by the remains of tombs, (including a travertine cippus,
apparently in situ, which bears the inscription CJ.L, vi. 14610), which are
seen in the wall on the N. side of the modern road, and by the fact that
beyond this point the pavingstones of the ancient road begin to appear
under the houses on the S. side of the modern road.
A water reservoir was discovered in the Vigna Ojetti^ in 1882 {Not,
Scav, 1882, 113), and another in a tufa quarry belonging to the firm of
Santini and Giacchelli {Not, Scav. 1887, 558). Where this last may have
been is doubtful, as no further details of its position are given.
The Vigna de Santis, on the left, contains several sepulchral inscrip-
tions. Among them, besides several published in the C/.Z-., I noticed a
marble tablet with the following inscription :
D • M •
C • GALER^
PLACIDiy
CECINIA
AEGLE^
CON?
1 also saw a white marble cippus, with urceus on the left and patera on
the right, bearing the inscription :
* It is stated by him in a volume of his MS. notes now in my possession.
* It is identical with the Vigna della Certosa, which lies on the S. side of the road, between
the second and third (ancient) milestones. It is in this vineyard that the last arches (towards Rome)
of the Aqua Alexandrina are seen (Lanciani, Comvientari di Frontino, 171).
226
The British School at Rome.
C.IM. vi. 10254 '■ d.m.\ Ti. Claudia ] Onesimo \ viatori \ colUgi magni. |
CI. Zmyrna amiux.
This inscription was copied by Jucundus in the sixteenth century.
" in domo Prospcri S- Crucis " (near S. Maria in Publicolis, close to the
Ghetto), but it does not seem to have been known by the compilers of the
Corpus to be still in existence.
In the Vigna Massoli (the last to the right before the open country is
reached) some extensive subterranean passages, excavated in the rocJc
were discovered in 1S81 (AV. Scav., 1881, 320X The>' were lined with
stucco aiid floored with hard cement, but as the walls of one of them were
adorned Hnth frescoes, thej- can hardly have served as water reservoirs, and
their purpose must be considered doubtful. Built into the wall of the
\'icoIo D<^^i, which turns off to the left about 500 yards be>'ond the
V'igna de Santis, is a large slab of marble, bearing an unpublished inscrip-
tion in Greek, with good lettering, which has been used as the pressbed of
an oil mill, the inscription being parti}- destroyed.
Geow
HCHiDiercDi
eP€t£NeOIClAO/^
£NMOYN0N0M
TA<p:AOYCOYC/
:c I AYeoNG
T il \C \ 0' A
There is also a lra\-ertine cippus. with the inscription :
IXFRON'TE
PXIIII
!NAGKO
r XIIII
\\\ the Villa Cellerc J\^^me^!y the Villa del Grande' a Sne subterranean
tomb ^prvibabiy Tajjan' »-as dis^wun^l in 1S3S yDisi^ AcoeJ Ptntt. Artk
Classical Topography of the Roman Campagna.— I. 227
X. 43-124, C.LL, vi. 24926, Marucchi, Guide des Catacotnbes romaines, 223).
Here was also found the lead pipe, C.LL, xv. 7412, Aemilius Lucius fecit \
Aureli T/tessali Aug. lib.
In the wall of the Villa Cellere is another travertine cippus with the
inscription :
V-PVC
LICVMDERV
LIBERTEIS-li
LIBERTAB\
A-LIVIVSO.L.
TABIANV
INAGRVPX
The cippus is broken at the top, and the surface weathered, so that
the inscription is not easy to read. The lettering belongs to the first
century B.C. Not far from this point the aqueduct of the Aqua Alexan-
drina must pass under the road, as at the crossing of the Fosso di
Centocelle it reappears on the north of it.
A little further on, at the fourth mile of the ancient road, comes a
sharp descent to the valley of the Fosso di Centocelle. The cutting of
the ancient road is visible a little to the S. of the modern one, and on
each side of it are tombs. On the N. a double tomb has recently been
found ; a shallow grave cut in the rock, with a partition of opus mixtum
dividing it into two. On the S. is a square brick tomb, with a round
chamber above it To the E. are the remains of two large tombs in opus
quadratum, which give the line of the road as being precisely 25° S. of E.
A sepulchral inscription published in Diss. Ace. Pont. Arch. Ser. ii. vol.
ii. p. 42, mentions a tomb quod est Via Lab{icancL) sum{ma) iiii. ad MPy
the reference being to this point of the road, where the highest point
coming out of Rome is reached.
We have now reached the Tenuta di Centocelle (the name extends to
the land on each side of the road), the scene of important excavations and
discoveries. Remains of a fine villa exist to the S. of the road to the E.
of the parade ground (Piazza d'Armi). There are two fairly well preserved
water reservoirs. One is a single chamber of opus reticulatum with later
additions in rougher work ; the other consists of two chambers side by
side, with two openings in the wall between them, and a third (square)
Q 2
238
The British School at Rome.
chamber at one end, communicating with one of them by a pipe, possiblfifl
used for filtration, the whole standing upon vaulted foundations. Pirron
Ligorio (MS, Bodl. f. 80') gives plans of two water reservoirs situated three!
miles from Rome along the road, but they do not correspond with anyj
buildings now existing, and may or may not be fictitious. He also giva.a
{ibid. 114, 114') plans of tombs on this road, to one of which he attribute
the forged inscriptions C.I.L. xiv. 241.*
Further E, is the apse of a church with eight windows. The style of
the brickwork dates it as 5th century work, and this corresponds wth the
identification of this site with that of the suburban see of Sub Augiista or
Augusta Helena, the bishops of which are mentioned in the records of the
latter half of the 5th century (see Nibby, Anaiisi, iii. 119, and infra p. 263).
The latter name may indicate that tlie villa belonged to the Empress
Helena, though parts of it are in origin of earlier date.' At the end of the
last century excavations were made here, and some important statues and
busts discovered which are now in the Vatican : the Thanatos * of the
Galleria delle Statue, the (so-called) Adonis of the Gabinetto delle
Maschere, the (so-called) Lycurgus of the Sala delle Muse, and the busts
of Isis and of the youthful Lucius Verus in the Sala dei Busti (Helbig,
Fithrer, i. nos. 189. 233, 264, 287).'
N. of the apse of the church, and close to the road, is the Casale di
Centocelle, built into a circular brick tomb with domed roof and niches,
of rough work and belonging to a fairly late period. Just at this point,
close to the bridge over the stream, stood the tomb of the Haterii, the
reliefs from which are now in the Lateran, and, representing as they do
some of the buildings of the Sacra Via, are of great topt^raphical import-
ance (5«//. //wA 1848,97; Annali, 1849, pp. 363-410; Helbig, Fithrer, i.
p. 515). To the E. is the Torre di Centocelle, a mediaeval tower of great
height, built of chips of selce, tufa, and white marble, which evidently
occupies the site of a Roman building. Near it are the foundations of a
structure in opus quadratum, and to the S. of it, upon the ridge, are the
' In 175s the inscriptions C.I.L. vi. 631, 632, belonging 10 the collefiium Silvani AiireliMU
(177 A.D.). 'he members of which were gladiators of tlifferent kinds, were discovered here Their
names and siiccial performances are given in the first of the two inscriptions, which is the album
- This name is that given to the statue by Helbig : it is generally known as Eros.
* From a letter preserved in the Archives at Nfodena, and published in BuU. Cem. 1898, 18,
which bears dale March 28th, 17S7, we learn for the first time (hat these two busts weie also
found here.
Classical Topography of the Roman Campagna. — 1. 229
ns of some unimportant buildings. On the opposite side of the road
s remains of a tomb and a small water reservoir in opus reticulatum. A
road (probably that marked by Nibby and Gelt, though they fix its point
of departure a good deal further W.) must have diverged northwards here,
running towards the Via Praenestina : for above the W. bank of the stream,
to the N. of the Aqua Alexandrina, the fine remains of which are seen
crossing the valley on the left of the road, are some foundations of uncer-
tain date (perhaps of a tomb), and to the N. a large villa in the ruins of
which I found the brickstamps C.t.L. xv. 496 a, 2226,' and many paving-
stones. No traces of the road are to be seen further N,, and Nibby and
Gell only mark it as running for half a mile from the Labicana.
The Staff Map gives the name " Ruderi di Ccntocelle" to some now
insignificant remains S. of the aqueduct on the E. bank of the stream, to
trhich, however, a small channel running from the great aqueduct may be
raced, and at the point where it leaves the aqueduct are the remains of a
iervoir, in which I found C.I.L. xv. 1007.
This was the site of the excavations of Guidi in 1866 {BttU. Inst. 1866,
■70; C.I.L. vi. 1870 a, published also in Bull. Com., 1874, 5). Several
tombs were found, and a fine villa, the plan of which was unfortunately
K>t taken. In it were two mosaic pavements, one representing a courtesan
jutting with her lover, and two female servants, the other depicting comic
masks. These mosaics were both inclosed in terra-cotta boxes filled with
taster, into which the cubes of the mosaic were set. A leaden water-pipe
5 also found, bearing the inscription :—L■LAETOR■ANNAE^R^F
WC.I.L. XV. 7484). A pavement of opus signinum had in later times been
ftid upon them {Bull. Inst. 1871, 269).
From the tombs came sixteen inscriptions (now preserved in the Capi-
tol), and many brickstamps. Besides three copies of the stamp C.I.L. xv.
^54 a : Apron{iatto) et Paetin(p) co{n)s{ulibus) Pomfipni ? ) Vi({alis) ex
i{aedU) Anni Veri Qnint(ianis) vel Qniiil{ancnsibus), about seventy more
tamps were found with the names of the same consuls (who held office in
^123 A.D.), followed by the name of a slave, with hollow letters arranged in
two straight lines. It is probable, therefore, that these latter stamps also
' This ^lamp haiJ previously bvcn riiund only in llie Alban Kills, nnd islherEfurc classed artu.ng
ips belonging lo bricks from that disliict in the Carpus. Tlic discovery of this copy (which
a flutigc-tile) shows that these bricks may have been made nearer Rome. Another stsm]i
he name of the sme bclory ownet — (Aonii Atescusa), C.I.L. xv. 1141 — has been several
H found in Rome itself.
i
i30
The British School at Rome,
belong to the figlinae Quintianae or Quinlanenses {C.I.L. xv. p. 132). The
brickstamps, with the sculptures, were bought by the Municipal Archaeo-
logical Commission in 1872 {Bull. Com. 1872-3, 91).
Near Centocelle, on the left of the road, was found in 1758 an tnscrip*
tion (published by Dessau in Epk. Epigr. vii, (1892) p. 384) erected i
honour of M, Atilius Severus, who was consul in the time of Commodoft]
and exiled by him, by the Sodales Herculani.
II. — From Centocelle to Torre Nuova
{from the Fifth to the Seventh Afilestone).
Shortly after passing the Torre di Centocelle the modern road turns i
slightly to the left as it ascends the hill. The ancient road seems to
have gone on in a straight line, running through a cutting which is still
clearly visible, and keeping fifty yards or more S. of the modern road for a
mile and a half beyond this point. At the top of the hill we reach the site
of the fifth milestone of the ancient road. To the S. of the road, at a
distance of about 500 yards, are some ruins of an entirely mediaeval build-
ing, close to which, however, arc the remains of a rectangular water
reservoir of Roman date. Here, a year or two ago, a lai^e number of
amphorae (I was told 200 or so) were discovered.
Nearly a mile further S. is a tower known as Torre Spaccata, which is
wholly mediaeval ; but some way to the S. of it again is a lofty square
mass of concrete, probably the core of a tomb. To the S.E. of the tower
is a ruin called the Muraccio dell' Archetto, which is an apse of brickwork
and opus reticulatum. Near it are masses of concrete, and there was
probably a lai^e villa here, as also at point 65 further to the N.
About 30oyards E. of the site of the fifth milestone, traces of tombs in
opus quadratum are visible on both sides of the cuttingof the ancient road.
Only the large foundation blocks (in one case six feet long) remain,
orientated with the line of the road. 1 was told, in fact, by 3 road-mender
that bodies had been found there in October, 1899. Thediscovery (recorded
in Bull. Com. 1899, 149) of a tomb inscription of the early Empire, in
■planting trees along the modern road, does not prove that it exactly
follows the ancient here. The inscription was not found in situ, a.s it would
seem, and even if it had been, the belt of tombs lining the road may well
Classical Topographv ok the Ro^[AN Campagna. — I.
231
have been fifty yards wide ; or the tomb to which the inscription belonged
may have been erected on the line of a deverticulum. Pavingstones were,
as a matter of fact, discovered at the same time.
The line of this deverticulum would be preserved by the modern track
which runs W. of the " Ruderi delle Bisacce" (a large open water reservoir)
and thence due N. An ancient road probably ran E., starting from this
track a little N. of the Due Casaletti (two modern farm-houses) ; for here
we have four tombs in line, one of which is a square chamber of opus
quadratum. The blocks are of peperino, and one of them measures
2-50x74x75 m. Three courses of masonry, each 75 m. high, are pre-
served, and there is a door near the S.E. angle. This road would have run
some way to the S. of the Casa Calda, which is an entirely mediaeval ruin.
Fabretti (Z>f Agiiis, Diss, i.. Tab. i., num. S) marks a branch aqueduct from
the Aqua Alexandrina passing W. of it, which probably supplied some
villas further S. The inscription C.I.L, vi. 1598 was found near Casa
Calda by Rosa in 1856, close to an ancient rock-cut water reservoir, and is
now preserved in the Villa Borghese at Frascati. It is cut on the epistyle
of a marble monument. The first third is wanting, but it is almost certain
that it is the sepulchral inscription of Nicomedes, the tutor of Lucius
Verus. (See Anna/i, 1857,86.)
On the S. of the ancient Via Labicana is the apse of a church,
constructed of opus mi.Ktum and facing E., close to which are remains of
other buildings in brickwork of a late period. It is very likely that the
name " Cappella di S. Maura," which upon the Staff iVIap is applied to the
brick tomb referred to below, belongs in reality to this building. Exca-
vations were made here in 1S90, but led to little result, as the site was
found to have been explored already {Noi. Sciw. 1S90, 159).
Ficoroni {Piombi, p. 9, and tav. i, fig. 3) gives an illustration of a
medallion found in 1724 in the hollow of the imoscape of a marble column
four miles out of Rome (reckoning from the Porta Maggiore), on the right
of the road.
The ancient road, as has been said, continues to rim S, of the modern ;
the latter, at the top of the hill, cuts through the foundations of a villa,
which appear on each side of the cutting. S. of it, but on the N. of the
ancient road, are foundations of tombs in concrete, fragments of paving
StDDCS, and, at point 53, an elegant little tomb in ornamental brickwork,
a cornice of terra-cotta, not moulded but cut, and with loophole
aja The British School at Rome.
windows. In the cutting of the modern road through the next hill the
walls of another villa are seen in each bank, proving again that the ancient
road ran elsewhere,
Just E, of this, on the S. side of the modern road, is a trough (probably
a water-trough) of concrete of selce, lined with hard cement, and apparently'
open to the air ; it measures 582 x '68 m. inside, and is about a foot deep,
with walls '34 m. thick. It runs W.N. VV. and E.S.E., thus preser^'ing the line
of the road. A few hundred yards to the N. are some entirely mediaeval
remains.
At this point was the sixth milestone of the ancient road. Keeping
straight line, it now crosses the modern road, and the tombs which lined It
are seen in the field to the N. Some way N. of these again is a lofty
mediaeval tower, and close to it the remains of a large building, perhaps a
church. These ruins are called " Le due Torn." Excavations made here-
abouts in iSgo proved fruitless, the tombs of the ancient road having been
destroyed by mediaeval and modem constructions (A"*/. Sctn\ 1S90, 159).
A few hundred >-ards to the S-, in the direction of the Casale
Carcaricola (Cardariola in the register of Cencius Camerarius: Xibb)',
Analisi, tii. 239) is a large water reser\'oir with external buttresses.
The ancient road descends the hill in a. straight line in a cutting, which
may be :iii-en on the S. of thi; mi.>dcrn road ; the latter curves slightlj" to the
left again, and recrosses the ancient line.
Tuniing sharply at the bottom of the hill, the ancient road passes over
a verj- fine bridge, still in use and well presened. It is constructed of
opus quadratum of tufa, and the single arch measures 570 m. in span, and
610 in width. The bridgehead on the N. is particularly well preserved
(Fig. is;.
Four hundred yards further on, corresponding with the site of the
se%'enth milestone, is the large casale of Torre Nuo\-a (Nibby, AnaOsi, iii.
ajS"* surrounded by a gro\-e of pines (a rajit>- in the Campagna), and
fonning, as Nibbj" remarks, an oasis in the desert The front of the
central ^wrtion of the casale rests on an ancient building (apparently a
tonib^, f.iixxl with brickwork, in which are seen the thin bricks, with very
thin I.ixt^rs of m^^rtar between them, characteristic of the beginning of the
thirvi ce^»t^l^^■, and in the >x'urtyard some opus reticulatum may be seen.
Then.' are m.iny arvhite\:tur,il fr.itnnents of marble about ; a fine piece of
c^'wuioe in the g-ArJen just bejvnd the tw-idgc may be noted. In the court-
%
Classical ToroGRAPHY of the Roman Campagna.— I.
23S
yard are several inscriptions : C.I.L. vi. 9182, and some others, copied am
published by Tomassetti {Bull. Com. 1899, pp. 284-286). The diw
coveries in the tenuta have been many. Pier Leone Ghezzi, in a MS. in
the Vatican (Cod. Ottobon. 3106 f. 166 : see Schreiber, Fundberkhte Ajg
P. L. Ghezzi in Sitsungsberichte der k. Sachs. GeselUchaft d. Wissenschaften
1892, p. 142. nos, 67, 68) describes the sarcophagus with the myth (
\
Actaeon, found here in 1738, which at first belonged to the Borghese
family, and is now in the Louvre (Frohner, Notice, no. 103). Sec also
Ficoroni, Labico. p. 30 ( = mem. 6 1 in Fea, Miscellanea, i. 148). Ghezzi also
gives a drawing of a bronze female statue found here in 1742 {British
Museum, Townley MS. f. 143: see Lanciani, Bull. Com. 1S93, 166). A
relief representing the education of Telephus or Artemis Kourotrophos
(now in the Villa Borghese) was found either here or at Pantano in 1760
(Helbig, Fiihrer, ii. no. 954). The inscriptions C.I.L. vi. 3606, 8443, 8498,
15018, and the great mosaic of gladiators (now in the Villa Borghese)
234
The British School at Rome.
discovered in 1834 in the Quarto called La Giostra ' in the remains of
a large villa near the E. edge of the tenuta (^^k//. last. 1S34, 193; 1846,
: Diss. Ace. Pont. Arch. xii. 73, where a full description is given by
Henzen : Helbig, Fiikrer, W. p. 124) also belong to this locality. Other
unimportant excavations are recorded in Bull. Inst. 1863,69; C.I.L.\\.
8 (a marble altar dedicated to Valentius Silvanus) was also found near
here, also the unimportant cippus C.I.L. vi. 19981 a. Stevenson (MS.
notes, voL cit. f. 16") gives the text of a fragmentar)- inscription found here,
together with a marble relief representing hippocampi and cupids.
OX
STATV^[_
^NEMVENDlt
"^ELEVRIPRN^
VS L0CI[
4
In this district was situated the ager I'upiniensis or Pupinius, from
which the tribus Pupinia took its name. It lay between Rome and
Tusculum, eight miles distant from the former, and upon the edge of the
territory of the tribiw Papiria, to which Tusculum belonged. It was in
the ager Pupinius that Hannibal encamped, after leaving Gabii, when he
marched on Rome in 211 B.C. (Liv. xxvi. 9. 12, Festus, p. 233, Mull.) Its
sterility was proverbial (Varro, R.R. i.9. 5, Columellai. 4, Val. Max. iv.4.4).
It was here that Atilius Regulus and Fabius Maximus had their farms,
according to the writers just cited.
In the eighth century this territory constituted the Massa Calciana
spoken of in the Register of Cencius Camerarius, so that it continued to
be an inhabited centre (Nibby, Analisi, ii. 238),
III. — From Torre Nuova to Prata Porci
(^froiH the Sei'ciitk to the Eleventh Milestone).
Up to the point we have now reached the modern road keeps fairly
close to the ancient, but from Torre Nuova to San Cesareo, atx>ut the
eighteenth mile from Rome, the two are entirely distinct, and there they
' Gioslra means a large inclosed space {lileralty a 'ousting place oi tilting ground).
Classical Topography of the Roman Campagna. — I. 235
separate again, after being within 35 paces of one another at one point
(p. 266), and do not unite until the castle of Piombinara (p. 280) is reached,
about 31 miles from Rome. The course of the ancient road has been
in the past matter of controversy, and with it is connected the question
as to the site of Labici,^ which Strabo (v. 3, 9, p. 237) places on the right of
the road upon a hill, at a distance of over fifteen miles from Rome
(AajSiKavi) oBo^) .... Trpoeitriv iiri ttXc/oi;? twi/ eKarov /eac el/cotri araSieov,
Kal v\r)(Tcda'aa'a tw AaficK^, iraXaiA Krlafian KaTeairaafiivtp^ K€ifiiv(p S'
i<f> vy^ov^y TovTO zeal to Tovcr/eXop iv Sef tot? dwoXeiirec k.t.X,
In his day it was already destroyed, but was succeeded by a station
on the road which ran below, called Labici Quintanenses or (by the
Itineraries) Ad Quint^nas, and situated near the fifteenth milestone. Of
the six sites proposed for Labici, Zagarolo,^ CoUe dei Quadri,^ and Valmon-
tone,* are in any case impossible, as their distance from Rome is too great.
Colonna, the site preferred by most writers,* could not be identified with
it, unless the ancient road passed below and to the N. of it, whereas, as
will be seen, it ran to the S. of it. There remain therefore, Monte
Compatri • and Monte Salomone^; but, as will be seen, the evidence in
favour of the latter is quite insufficient.
Before proceeding to follow the course of the ancient road, it may be
convenient to describe very briefly that of the modern. That it follows,
more or less, the line of some ancient road, is very likely. The district
through which it passes, though at the present day absolutely desolate, was
in Roman times covered with villas the remains of which are still traceable.
Chaupy {Maison d' Horace, iii. 469) states that he saw the ancient pavement
of this road in situ a mile beyond Torre Nuova. The fact that (as will be
seen from the map) it serves in several places as the boundary between the
territory of different communes and in particular that of Rome, is also
significant. But the entire absence of tombs shows that it was of no
' This is the orthography adopted by most Latin writers {C.I.L, xiv. p. 274).
^ Cluverias, Itaiia afUitftia, p. 947 ; Kircher, iMtium, p. 120.
* Ficoroni, Labico, Bertarelli, Labico. The name Labico was only given to Lugnano in the year
1880, Ficoroni*s erroneous theory being thereby sanctioned.
* Alberti, Italia, p. 144; Biondo, Italia Illustrata (ed. 1543), p. 102; Kircher, iMtium,
pp. 71, 72 (though on p. 120 he rejects this site in favour of Zagarolo).
• See (among others) Holstenius, Ad Cluver.,^. 194 ; Fabretti, De Aquis, 175 ; Nibby, Analisi,
iL 157 ; Gell, Environs of Rome, 280; Westphal, Romische KampagfU, p. 79.
• Capmartin de Chaupy, Maison de Campagtu d^ Horace, ii. 174 ; Rosa, Bull. Inst. 1856, 154 ;
C.I.L. xiv. p. 275.
' Vitale, De oppido Labici dissertatio (Rome, 1778).
336
The British School at Rome.
great importance, and there is hardly a single place where it can be said to
look like an ancient road. At several points, in fact, the cuttings by which
it is taken through the hills are driven right through remains of villas,
ancient drains, &c. After crossing the Ponte della Morte, however, it
ascends and descends the hill between this and the Osteria del Finocchio
by a deep cutting which, though much widened in modem times, may be
in origin ancient There are, too, remains of a fine villa on the S. side.
which do not seem to have been cut through by the road. On the other
hand, the appearance of a drain on the N. side is an awkward fact. At the
Osteria del Finocchio it reaches an important junction of roads ; the Via
Cavona crosses it, and a road from the valley of Prata Porci also joins it
here. On the S. of the road, near the Osteria, Cluverius {Italia antiqua,
p. 956) saw qua Ttisculum versus ascenditur, vestigia quaedam in lenissime
adsurgentibus tumuiis vetemm murorum aedificiorumque. Haec ego ....
Gabiorum reliquias esse iudico. (In this he is of course entirely mistaken.)
Beyond the Osteria, Ficoroni {Labico, 30), who wrote in 1745, states that he
saw the workmen who were repairing the modern road, excavating the
pavement of the ancient road on its left, and using the stones for the new
As far as the Osteria the road has run fairly straight, ascending grad-
ually, from Torre Nuova. It now descends sharply into the wide basin of
Pantano {" the swamp "), and then, skirting the edge of the hills which bound
it on the south, ascends again steeply (174 m. in 4500) from the Ponte di
Pantano to the Osteria della Colonna. Shortly after the ascent commences
the remains of a large villa are seen on the right (at point 74 on the map).
A little further on, at point 109, on the same side of the road, are
the remains of a water reservoir, and below it, overlooking the valley to the
W., the ruins of another extensive villa, in which may still be seen a round
furnace with four apertures communicating with a square chamber surround-
ing it, from which the hot air was distributed by pipes, two in each angle.
The brickstamps {C.I.L. xv. 599 a) belong to the time of Hadrian. Here
or hereabouts (nel quarto del Corvio dalla parte di Pantano). was found
a lead pipe bearing the inscription T-STATILI(us) FELICIO FEC(it)
C.I.L. XV. 7868b, ArmclJini, Cronacheita, 1892, Sr.
On the opposite .side of the road is the Laghetto della Colonna, which
has by many authors been held to be the Lake Regillus. I have tried to
show that it is not in Rendiconti dei Liiicei, 1898, pp. 109-1 14 (a short
Classical Topography of the Roman Ca.mpagna.— I. 237
summar}' is given in the Classical Review, 1 898, 470). That It is not merely
a modern quarry is shown by the fact that the remains of a very large
villa, which dominate its N. and E, sides, follow the curve of the cliffs. To
the E, ofit, and S. of the summit of the conical hill called Monte Falcone
(perhaps from Q. Pompeius Falco, who in this case may be assumed to have
been the proprietor of the villa : Lanciani, Bull. Com. 1884, 1S8). arc the
remains of a large water reser\'oir with two parallel chambers. Monte
Falcone is entirely composed of selce (hard lava), which the engineers of
the Roman aqueducts were at great pains to avoid. The Anio Novus
and Claudia, and probably the Marcia, travelled at a sufficiently high level
to be able to pass E. of the hill without much tunnelling ; but the Anio
Vetus, the level of which is here some 150 feet lower, is taken round the
E., N.. and W. sides of the hill, making a very long circuit, in order
to avoid even the shortest tunnel through the hard lava.
A few hundred yards beyond the Laghetto an ancient deverticulum falls
into this road from the S., descending probably from the Via Labicana
near the fifteenth milestone, though its course is not certain beyond
Le Marmorelle. Along this road was probably found CI.L. xiv. 2780 (cf.
Bull. Inst. 1856, 156).
About a kilometre further on is the point where the Anio Novus must
cross the road. Remains of it, at the ground level, are visible in the fields
to the N.— part of the specus and several putei. A little further E., to
the N. of the Casale delle Cave, a small stream has been
dammed in ancient times by a curving wall built of targe rough blocks of
selce.
This dam measures 3'00 m. wide at the top, broadening rapidly towards
the bottom. Probably there was a small hole in it for the passage of the
stream ; and the object of the dam was, very likely, to protect the
aqueducts. N.E, of this are considerable traces of pavingstones, some
perhaps in situ, of a road running a little W. of N., probably from the
Osteria della Colonna towards La Pallavicina. Along the course of this
road are Uvo or three water reservoirs, in which was no doubt collected the
water from the springs which lie a few hundred yards N. of the Osteria,
and feed the Acqua Felice, The road mentioned as leaving the Via
Praenestina at Cavamonte also runs to the Osteria della Colonna ; and yet
another ancient road is that which approaches the Osteria from the W.,
descending from the Via Labicana near the fifteenth mite, and skirting
23S
The British School at Rome.
the western and northern slopes of the hill on tthich the village of CoLonna
stands. Where it turns eastwards it passes the remains of a large villa,
with two platforms supported by substructures one above the other, in
which were found a Mithraic relief, some columns, and the inscription
C.I.L. xiv. 2772 {Bull. Inst. 1864. 92 ; 1865. 266; Bull. Cow. 1872-3. 270).
Finally, it is probable that an ancient road descended from the Via
Labicana on the E. side of Colonna also, though not following precisely
the line of the modern road which runs here, as the latter cuts through the
remains of a water reservoir half-way down the hill, but keeping perhaps a
little furtlier E. There arc some paving stones in a field wall to the W.
of the Casale Alticri, which may have belonged to this road. The water
reservoir is probably connected with the ancient villa in the Altemps
property, in which in 1871 was found the sepulchral inscription : C./.i, xiv.
2779. Kabretti {^De Aquis, map opposite p. 90) marks this road. ^^U
The Ostcria della Colonna was, therefore, in ancient times an important^^l
meeting point of roads, an additional argument for the antiquitj' of ^fiS
Via Casilina.
After the Ostcria the road passes a large villa on the hill to the N. It
presents no features of particular interest, and ascends gradually to
S. Cesareo fp. 266).
It is now necessar>' to return to the real Via Labicana, which we left at
Torre Nuova, The first to identify the true course of the road was
Capmartin de Chaupy {Afaison de Campagiie d" Horace, ii. 173), though the
indications given by him are meagre. The rediscoverer of the road as a
whole was Rosa, whose results are published by Henzen in Bull. Inst. 1856,
154. The account of the course of the road, though absolutely correct, is
unfortunately very brief and unaccompanied by a map, the result being
that the line given by Kiepert and Dessau (who accept Rosa's view) in the
map at the end of C.I.L. xiv. is ver>- far from being the true one, showing
that Rosa's description was not carefully verified on the spot before the
construction of the map (cf. C.I.L. xiv. p. 275). So far as straightness goes,
a point upon which Dessau lays stress, the ancient road has very little ad-
vantage over the modern one. The view expressed by me '\x\ Rendicortti dei
l.incii, 1S9S, 1 1 1, is vitiated by the same misconception. It may be men-
tioned in passing that some of those authors who place Labici at Colonna
make ihc road diverge to the right from the modern Here, but fall into it
again not far from the Laghetto della Colonna (Fabretti, De Aquis, Diss. i.
^
Classical Topography of the Roman Campagna.— I. 239
Tab. 1.; Nibby, Analisi, iii. 631,11. 165 ; V^ ^stphdX, Romische Kampa£pie,yg).
The first indication of the course of the road is a tomb about 600 yards E.
of Torre Nuova, called on the military map " II Torrione." This is a large
brick tomb, in two stories ; of the upper chamber little is left, but the lower
is almost complete. Its entrance faces about 16** E. of N., so that it stood
on the N. side of the ancient road (the entrance being from the back, as a
rule, in tombs of this construction), and on this side there is a kind of
porch. The chamber is lighted by loophole windows in each of the other
three sides.
A hundred yards S. of this, and on the S. side of the road, lies a large
water reservoir (called " II Caminetto " from a modern chimney built upon
it) divided into three aisles, the cross-vaulting of which is supported by
four pillars of opus mixtum. There are remains of buildings to the N. of
it, and excavations were made here in 1890 {Not. Scav, 1890, 159), in the
course of which, though the ground had obviously been already explored,
some fragments of marble statues and part of a mosaic representing a Nile
scene were found, besides a complete column of Carystian marble (470 m.
in length, o*6o m. in diameter) and some fragments of other columns which
still lie there.
The track of the road from the Torrione to the stream seems to be
clearly traceable in the grass, running E.S.E. There are a few paving
stones apparently in sitUy and many lying loose.
To the N. of the road, and just above and to the S. of the modern road,
lies the Ara delle Sette Miglia, a conical hillock, on which are remains of
some mediaeval building. To the N. of the modern road are the remains
of a large villa, marked erroneously by Fabretti {De AqutSy Diss. i. Tab. i.)
as " aquaeductus."
After crossing the stream the road turns more to the S. The paving
stones of the ancient road are visible in places on the ascent to the top of
the next hill. In the course of this ascent we pass the site of the eighth
milestone. Upon the top of the hill is a group of tombs, of most of
which the foundations only remain, all orientated to correspond with
the line of the road which here runs S.E., except one on the N. side
orientated N.N.W. and S.S.E. which may point to the existence of a
deverticulum at this place (perhaps that mentioned on p. 176).
The road now keeps to the top of the ridge, and after passing over the
aqueduct of the Acqua Felice, another group of tombs is reached, mostly
240
The British School at Rome.
in a state of almost complete dilapidation. They were, as a rule, of
concrete and brickwork, often decorated with marble. S.W. of the road
are the Grottc Celoni (which, according to the view of Nibby, Aualisi, iii.
239, derive their name from Fabius Cilo, the friend of Septimius Severus),
both of which are single chambered water reservoirs, one constructed of
opus reticulatum, baked bricks and quoins of tufa, and the other of brick-
work and of opus mixtum. Excavations made here in 1890 (probably
among the tombs which line the road) resulted in the discovery of a few
sculptural fragments ; but the site had been already explored {Not. Scat'.
1890, 159). To the S. beyond the Fosso del Cavaliere, lies the Passo del
Lombardo which may be identified with I'rato Lombardo, to the N. of
which, or above which {" sopra "), in the tcnuta of Torre Nuova, the statue
of Helios, now in the Louvre, was discovered in 1769 (see Ragionamtnto
di Clemente Biagt sopra un' anti'ca stalua scoperla neW Agro Romano
(1772), avviso ai lettori, p. 6. Frohner, Notice, no, 4iS-)-
The traces of tombs continue beyond the Grotte Celoni. About 500
yards on is a well on the S.W. side of the road, about i m. in diameter,
cut through the tufa to a depth of about 3o feet, and provided with foot-
holes. Just beyond it is a fine piece of the pavement of the road in situ,
the width of which cannot be accurately determined.
Here is the site of the ninth milestone, and here the Via Labicana
turns sharply to run a few degrees N. of E., passing N. of a large circular
mound, the remains of the concrete foundation of a tomb which forms the
W. side of a large ustrinum, placed in the fork between the Via Labicana
and a road of some importance (to judge from the solidity of its construc-
tion and from the remains of the tombs which flanked it), which continues
straight on, running due S.E. at first, and then near the remains of a
villa at point 105 ' turning slightly to the S., until it reaches the Via
Cnvona. At the place where it fell into this important road (see p. 176)
its direction is 20 E. of S. and its width 250 m. This is, be it noted, the
spot where the boundary of the Agro Romano crosses the Via Cavona.
Its course after this is not quite certain ; there are many paving stones
belwivn this point and the large villa known as Grotte Dama, but they
arc ml^^^ly in situ, and belong to a road running 30° S. of W. to join the
Via Cavona. llcyond this I have not been able to trace it. It is most
]»riibable. hi>wevcr. tliat its continu.ation is to be found in the road (into
' Wkw «.is fmiiid iJic fr.»i;iiiciit.irv insctiplion i.ublishcd in Bull. Com, 1899, 36.
Classical Topography of the Roman Campagna. — I. 241
which, if prolonged, it would fall) which skirts the E. bank of Pantano
Secco, and ascends to the cemetery of Frascati, and thence onwards,
passing close to the avenue of the Villa Borghese, and W. of the Villa
Mondragone, to Tusculum.^
It may even be suggested that this road running straight on ta
Tusculum was the original road, and that the Via Labicana was con-
structed afterwards. On any other theory the sudden sharp turn of the
Via Labicana is very hard to account for, as the country which the road
passes through presents at this point no difficult problems of engineering.
After the sharp turn the road descends slightly, and then ascends through
a cutting to the top of the next ridge, reaching as it does so the boundary
of the Agro Romano which it follows fairly closely for some distance.
Upon the top of the hill the pavement is again clearly visible. The
" Torraccio " (point 99) is not a mediaeval tower (there is no trace of
mediaeval work about it), but a water reservoir of Roman date. Such
errors are not at all uncommon in the Italian staff maps, not to speak of
far graver and not less frequent errors of omission, when extensive ruins,,
visible for a considerable distance, are not even marked on the map.
To the S. and S.E. of this reservoir upon the edge of the hill over-
looking the road there was apparently a large villa. We found bricks
(one of which bore the stamp CJ.L, xv. 11 74 a, of 134 A.D.) and cubes of
a mosaic pavement. Along the ridge further N.W. are traces of buildings
(brick and marble) and many paving stones, so that it is not impossible
that a deverticulum ran along the ridge and fell into the Via Labicana here.
The road now descends the hill, passing S. of the " Torraccio," and
crosses the two branches of the Fosso di Tor di Bella Monaca about
twenty yards to the S. of their junction. Its pavement is seen in good
preservation in the smaller (W.) branch, and also the traces of a (compara-
tively) modern bridge, and some of its pavingstones are seen in each bank
of the larger stream, but most have been washed further down. The exact
line taken by the road in crossing is determined to be E.S.E. by a mass of
rock squared to form the base of a tomb which stands on the N. side
of the road, a few yards back from it and close to the E. bank of the
stream. The road still follows the boundary of the Agro Romano, until
the top of the hill is reached. Here the boundary turns sharply south-
wards, while the road keeps on E.S.E. Precisely at the site of the tenth
^ I owe my knowledge of the existence of the last section of this road to Padre Grossi-Gondi.
R
243
The British School at Roue.
milestone we reach the Catacombs of 5t Zoticus, tbe bistoty and full
description of which are given by Ste^'enson in his CimiUro di Zotko
CModena, 1876). The catacombs are placed in /undo Cafreeli milHario X
by the Martyrologics {ibid. p. 15). They are quite wrongly located in the
map given in C-I-L. xiv. Stevenson fp. 88) (ells us that in the excavations
of 1850 the pavement of the road was discovered in front of the entrance,
at a distance of about 10 m. {ibid. p. 24). The catacombs are in a de-
plorable state, entirely rifled, with the loculi all empty (i;^. a/, p. \zy Toihe
S,E. of them, on the top of the hill, are heaps of marble and brick, belongir^
to a villa, or perhaps to some building connected with the catacombs. An
inscription found in the catacombs {op. cit. p. 36J. which may be assigned to
a date not earlier than the eighth nor later than the twelfth ccntur\', speaks
of the erection of a portico h ith a tower ; and we know that in the twelfth
century there was a church here, dependent upon the abbey of Grotta-
fcrrata. Their origin is probably due to their proximit>' to the ager
Pupinius Cp- 234)- (Cf. De Rossi, BidL Arch. Crist. 1873, 113 ; Ste\-enson,
op. cit. p. 97-)
Beyond the catacombs the road continues to run E.S.E. for a short
distance, and some remains of the brick tombs lining it are visible.. It
then turned somewhat sharply almost to the E.X.E. and descended to
cross the small stream (the exact place cannot be determined, but probably
it was just where the two branches unite), and then began to ascend again
to the road known as the Via Cavona (p. 176), just before crossing which
it passed close to a large brick tomb (which apparently had a portico in
front of it) which faces 28° E. of S. Here was found the sepulchral cippus
of L. Tarius Sjjeratus, published by Tomassetti in Bull. Com. 1895, 281.
Several fragments of marble from tombs lie scattered about here. On the
E. side of the Via Cavona the boundary of the Agro Romano, separating
it from the tenuta di SS. Apostoli (cf. Rosa in Bull. Inst., 1856, 154),
returns to the Via Labicana, and follows it for nearly a mile until the
Fosso di Prata Porci is reached. The field wall which marks the boundary
is full of the pavingstones of the road, and just N. of it, on the W. slope
of the hill, is a travertine block, with a shallow depression 4 feet square cut
in it, which perhaps served to hold the base of a sepulchral cippus.
At point 114 is a water reservoir, and the Torraccio di Forama, further
N. still, is built upon another — a single chamber of considerable length,
with the sides supported by buttresses.
7\
Classical Topography of the Roman Campagna. — I. 243
IV.— From Prata Porci to Ad Quintanas
{from t/te Eleventh to t/ie Fifteenth Milestone).
The site of the eleventh milestone is about 100 yards to the W. of the
Fosso di Prata Porci, almost due N. of the ruins of a large building on the
hill, probably a water^ reservoir, which is marked on the military map as
** SS. Apostoli." On the S. side of this hill, above the Valle della Morte,
are the remains of several villas. Furthest to the N.W., on the top of
a mound marked in the map 132 m., are extensive remains of concrete
foundations and opus reticulatum walls, with fragments of marble and
brick. Two of the latter bore the stamps C.I.L, xv. 1026 a, (circa 123 A.D.),
2272 (first century A.D.). To the S. are two well shafts cut into the rock
to some considerable depth, and further S.E. is a water reservoir on the
top of the hill. Further up the valley again, close to the point where the
aqueducts of the Claudia and Anio Novus cross it (the subterranean
channel of the former is now occupied by the stream for a short distance,
one of the original putei being still in fair preservation, while the piers of
the bridge of the latter still remain), are traces of a villa. I saw a fine
marble cornice and some terra-cotta water (or hot air) pipes embedded in
plaster. Here was found a marble tablet bearing the following inscription
in badly cut letters 2 cm. high. The inscription, which has been since
published in Not, Scat'. 1901, 327, I copied on the spot.
D M
FECIT BATI uc
XIANVSF
RATISVO-A sic
GATHOPO
BENEMERE
NTIQVIVIB sic
4^tfT^!SNlS^
On the hill above the villa is a large water reservoir, consisting of many
small short interconnected passages hewn in the rock, which is coated with
strong cement. A similar reservoir exists in a fine state of preservation in
the centre of the upper platform of the large Roman villa in the garden of
the Villa Doria at Albano.
R 2
344 The British School at RoMtL
From the crossing of the Fosso di Prata Ford the line of the road is
marked by another field wall built of its pavingstones, until it reaches the
track from the Osteria del Finocchio to Prata Porci, which is, in all
probalHlity. an ancient mad, many of its pavingstones having been used
in the field wall which Hanks it.' It is possible that on the W. side of the
gofgc which leads to the valley of Prata Porci there was another ancient
road, as here too the field wall is full of pavingstones.*
The valley of Prata Porci, «hich lies about half a mile to the S, of the
road, is a large basin, cvidentlj- of volcanic origin. It has by some authors
{Ahckcn, MftU/ita/un,67, Toraassetti, Via Latiua, 171 (note\237.259,36l)
been identified with Lake Rc^ litis — an identification which I ha\'e
attempted to dispro\-c in RenditvHti dei Litieri, \Zg&, iiS (cf. Classical
Rcviru; 1S98, 470}. The basin ha^ two outlets, one on the N., another on
the W't through both of which run considerable streams ; and the v-arious
discoii"cries made in the bed of it, which are described in my article cited
abox-c, render it extremcl>- improbable that it was a lake in historical
times. Among these discox^eries is that of the remains of a lar^e thermal
establishment described by Tomassetti in AV- Scai: 1897, 45S ; MiltkeU-
mnsm, 1897, ppi 83-85. It was appanntJy constnicted in the first century
.v,D., the column? beinij <jf peperino coated with stucco, and rebuilt or
added to in the second. I found among the remains the brick stamp*
C.I.L. xv. ii~4a. of 1 ::4 .\.I>., and N^^vius Crispinu*. whose name occurs on
>ome le.id pijv< whiLh «cre discovered here, was consul -designate in
151 ,\,P. ,tV,L. Nv. ,"^4,;'. Pipes have also been found here bearing the
inscription SFR OCT.AVi L.\ENATIS PONTIAM .consul .\.D. 131,
' Tidnr (iiv-ssi-lVu-s-.: i-:',^.-.-.:- -.» :hj: he >jLt :rju-eii :>U r.ud oowxnl? in a S.S-E. direction,
S; i.vr.ioi:n.!o.i li:!! :hc \-;Ili r.:m:>,-r*d bel.>« .c p. K'T. nhich bes i?. of Mi.in;c Compilii), The
«V;h.T :h:vii:_i V.,v-^; -.. -.he -^".o.« .■« --^.^ y,-o~.^i Mr.idU-
= I .I'.v >.,» Sir; :>j ". ;• .:" Ji i....ii bcJi::? •.:-^« i;:,-«i::g <i-rp. «hioh I pob!Ls.SoJ in
: WXIIM k \II. Jw«
Classical Topography of the Roman Campagna. — I. 245
CLL. XV. 7845), and Tomassetti {ilitth, L c, cf. CJ,L, xv. 7844) mentions
the discovery on this occasion of pipes bearing the name of Octavius
Laenas, who, according to Dressel, may have been his grandfather.
Statues of some considerable importance were also found here, including
one, 070 m. in height,, of a new type of Apoxyomenos {Ber/.
Phil, Woctienschrift^ 1897, 30), the fate of which I do not know. It
may be noted that the identification (founded on the discovery of these
lead pipes bearing the inscription NOVI CRISPINI) which Tomassetti
proposes between this spot and the fundus Crispinis et amonetis Via
Labicana miliario plus minus XIIIL (or XIII. — Martinucci, Collectio
Canonum, p. 324) ex corpore massce Fist is, mentioned in the register of
Gregory IX., must be rejected, unless the text of the Register is to be
altered, the true distance from Rome being only a little over eleven miles.
More important is the fact that the two bridges of the aqueducts of the
Claudia and the Anio Novus are visible side by side, crossing the stream
which runs through the middle of the valley, while the stream which
passes through the outlet on the W. runs, as we have noticed (p. 243),
through the actual specus of the Aqua Claudia. The remains of the
aqueducts in this district are in fact of great interest, and up till now
unnoticed by topographers ; but to attempt to go into detail would lead
us too far from the matter in hand. A short preliminary account of the
results of our explorations appeared in the Classical Reviexv (1900, 325).
The course of the road after the point where we left it cannot be fixed
with absolute precision, but it evidently curved round the foot of the
Colle S. Isidoro, passing not far S. of the Casale Corvio (perhaps at the
point of junction of the two branches of the Fosso di Fontana Candida),
which occupies a commanding position, and rests in part upon ancient
concrete foundations belonging, probably, to a Roman villa. A very large
one certainly existed about half a mile to the N.N.VV., at the point where
the road from the Casale joins the cart-track from Prata Porci to the
Osteria del Finocchio. To the S. of the road, on the slope of the hill, are
traces of other villas. Two small water reservoirs are still in existence,
and much brick and marble lies scattered about. One of the bricks bore
the stamp C.IL, xv. 1244 a (end of first century A.D.).
After crossing the western branch of the Fosso di Fontana Candida, the
road rose slightly, passing by a large tomb of opus quadratum with white
marble facing, of which traces still exist. On the top of the hill, above the
The British School at Rome.
road, are the remains of the mosaic pavements and marble decorations of
a large villa. The road skirts the slope beneath this villa and enters the
Vigna Sciarra. Here remains of tombs give its direction as 20° S. of E.
One of the.se is a block of tufa in situ, measuring 08 m. in depth, 070 in
width, and 041 in height (so far as preserved), and bearing the follnising
inscription in letters of the third or fourth centiirj' 005 m. in height.
',y
) V E M
V AXL
A eT
M II
TROPH I iE
FILIA
I
Another block of tufa, also in situ, at a distance of some 2o j'ards
further N., has precisely the same orientation. In the vineyard wore found
the brickstamps C!X. xv. 633 a, $1$ a (the latter of 134 A.D,}, coming
probably from tombs.
We are now at the mouth of the deep \-aliey of the main Fosso di
Fontana Candida. Somewhere in this valley (probably near point 138)
must have taken plact the discover)' of a quantity of lead waterpit>cs.
described by Stevenson (MS. cit. f. 2') as having occurred in 1886 on the
left of the path from Fontana Candida to Corvio, at the point where the
pavement of a deverticulum from I Trugli (p. 247) had recently been
destroyed.
In the stream, under a small bridge built entirely of fragments of paving-
stones and chips of marble, is a marble cippus, measuring l"i3X040m.
Any inscription that may have existed has, probably, been long since
obliterated by the water. A little further up, the pavement of the road is
visible in situ in the W, bank of the stream, running 35° E. of S. It turns
still further S. (I saw the pavement in situ a year or two ago, running
nearly due S. : it has since been removed), passing the site of the twelfth
milestone, and then turned again (the exact point is marked by a square
tomb of concrete). At this point (138 m. above sea-!evel) a road divei^es
to the E., of which more will be said later. To the N. are the remains of a
villa, near a new house, with a large system of underground passages for
water storage. In a small stream still further N.E., and \V. of the villa
at point 1 26, 1 found a fragment of a brickstamp |^ ' / EST / .
Classical Topography of the Roman Campagna
-I.
247
The Via Labicana ran 30' S. of E. over the shoulder of the hill,
descending again into the Valle del Trugli. In this valley there is an
interesting group of tombs, in fine preservation, the orientation of which
determines the direction of the road to be 25° S. of E. Some are of
concrete, others of opus quadratum. The latter are hardly preserved above
k
foundation level, the large blocks of which they are built having been
removed for use elsewhere; but two of the tombs of concrete are quite
conspicuous and have given their name to the place,'
' Triii;liu ur TruHo nicuns Kuncthing citculu : hence the name Lo TruUu, given lu ihc great
rtmnil towec where the Aurelian walls still Trom Ihe tefl bunk of the Tilwt, t« lun towards the
Form Fluninia. These lombi were originally «(iisre, at any rale at the hux, but have now tieeome
248
The British School at Rome.
b
I saw in 1901 an inscription (Fig. 19) which was found here.' It is
carved upon a slab of white marble, and is only a small fr^ment of the
whole, as it is complete at the top and on the right hand, and only a
IKjrtion of the cognomen remains in the first line. It may be perhaps
restored as follows : [donr's tiiilitaribiis iiy»tato al> [imp. Caes. T. Ft.
Vespasia\no Aug. .... [>/<?. v. Mac\cd>l(g x. The lettering is particularly
fine — the form of the G is rare in the first century A.D., but not unknown ;
cf. Hubner, Exempla Scripturae Epigraphicae, prolegomena ad litt. G, who
eites an African inscription of 30 A.D. {no. 233), an inscription from
Pompeii (no. 335), and another from Spain (no. 426). both of the time of
Vespasian, and one from Rome of the time of Domitian {C.I.L. vi. 8798).
With this inscription was found (so I was told) a gold ring weighing
2g grammes.
There were also found here three lamps, all undecorated above, but
bearing stamped* inscriptions on the bottom: {a) FORTIS {C.I.L. xv.
6450), {b) C ■ OPPI ■ RES {C.I.L. XV. 6593), while the third bears the stamp
of a foot. Further, the fine bronze plummet reproduced in Fig.- 20 was
discovered here. The original is in the possession of Professor F. W,
Kelsey, of the University of Michigan, U.S.A., to whom I am indebted for
the use of the drawing.
From this point a deverticulum ascends extremely steeply to the S.W. ;
its pavement is well preserved in places. On reaching the top of the
hill it is cro.ssed by another ancient road running S.E, There were
naturally numerous by-roads in this district, affording intercommunica-
' The jiliplogtaph reptoduced was laken from a pajier squeeze. The in<UTiptian has been
published in Not. Scav. 1901, 327, fiom a copy of tht- same ,s<iiiteie, which I gave lo Prof,
Touiasselti,
V
Classical Topography of the Ro>l\n Campagna.— I. 249
tion between the villas with which, as a glance at the map will show,
it abounded. Upon the hill above I Trugli are the remains of a villa in
opus reticulatum with stone quoins, which was richly decorated with
marbles.
The specus of the Claudia and Anio Novus are at this point just on
the S. of the road, which soon (at any rate before the E. branch of the
Fosso della Forma Rotta ^ is reached) crosses them. Both are below
ground, the specus of the Claudia being accessible, while two putei of the
Anio Novus are to be seen. The Marcia and Anio Vetus crossed this
valley about a kilometre further N., after the union of its two branches.
A puteus of the former exists on each bank of the stream, the W. bank of
which is in several places supported by a wall of large polygonal blocks, so
as to protect the aqueducts, which cither crossed it at a low level or passed
just beneath its bed.
From the Valle dei Trugli the road ascends somewhat sharply to the
site of the thirteenth milestone. Its pavement was fairly well preserved
for the greater part of the distance up till 1900, when it was destroyed.
About half a mile to the N. lies Torre lacova, a mediaeval tower crowning
the N. extremity of the Colle Mattia, which forms the centre of an
important group of remains.
The whole of this hill has recently passed under cultivation, and this
has led to the discovery and destruction of many ancient buildings.^ Close
to the site of the thirteenth milestone a group of tombs has been dis-
covered, with many architectural fragments of white marble, including a
Corinthian capital 0*38 m. in diameter at the top, and 0*26 at the bottom
(Fig. 21).
Not far from this point, in a vineyard, Stevenson found, in July
1890, the brickstamp C.LL, xv. 2269 {T, Quincti j Q. Suavis), and,
**in a vineyard wall near the tombs of the Via Labicana at Forma
Rotta " (is the reference to I Trugli ? ), a fragment of a curved stamp
I ST-M-"-
The road referred to as diverging to the E. just after the twelfth mile-
* TRc name ("broken aqueduct") is significant.
* While these papers have been in progress, further agricultural operations have led to the
discovery and destruction of remains of various buildings and of the specus of the Aqua Claudia and
Anio Novus. The brickstamps C./.Z. xv. 2343 (ist century a.d.) and a fragment of an un-
A V T V p , • •
published stamp A v 1 v f' . . • were discovered. The lettering of the latter stamp is
good and of an early type : the points are triangular. ^
2 so
TiiE British School at Romk.
stone reappears ' in two branches on the W. side of the CoIIe Mattia, boti
ascending to it rrom the stream which descends from the Valle dei TnigHj
Another ancient road appareJitly diverged to the N, from the northem^J
most branch, but is not traceable beyond the tower. Nor can either t
these roads be followed with certainty further E,, though it is not unlikelj*^
that they ran to the Colle della Lite, which is also covered with the
remains of villas, while the aqueducts of the Marcia and Anio Vetus tunnel
under it. Anntlier road j^robably ran S. alniv^' the rid^c t" ji'in the Via
Labicana at the thirteenth mile ; the existence of a large tombstone,
resembling those described on p. 175, may scr\"e as an indication. (See
also p. 253).
Turning to the remains on the hilt of Torre lacova, we have, to the VV., a
point 1 55 on the map, a water reservoir of late date, built entirely of con4
Crete made with masses of aqueduct deposit, and faced partly with band!
of brickwork. To the W, of this a round water reservoir, about i
diameter, was discovered in the spring of the year 1901. I was informs
that the floor was still perfect, and still retained water, and saw terra-c
' The pai-cmenl of Iwih ihcte roaib, which I saw in 1900 in fail preseivalioD. hu rMentl; b
Classical Topography of the Roman Campagna.— I. 251
supply pipes which had been found running westward from it. Close by I
saw the lip of a dolium bearing the following (unpublished) inscription
stamped upon it : —
FABI • C • F
The lettering is good.
To the N. in the vineyard are traces of a villa, among which was found
a tomb of late date formed by a gabled roof of tiles, one of which bore the
stamp C.LL, xv. 706 (134 A.D.). Close to Torre lacova was also found the
brickstamp CLL. xv. 515a (134 A.D.).^ To the E. is a tomb, orientated
E.S.E., of concrete faced with brickwork which still contains the marble
plugs which were used to hold the marble lining slabs firmly. Beyond
these again are the remains of a villa rustica in opus quadratum and selce
concrete, among which were found two brickstamps : CLL, xv. 2346, and
a fragment ANNIVE ... (hollow letters), which may belong to either CJ,L,
XX. 454, 479a or 8o6b (cf. 1875), ^"d dates from the time of Hadrian.- To
the S. of this is a water reservoir in the side of the hill.
The extensive view obtainable from the site may explain the frequency
of buildings here. On the E. slope of the hill are remains of a different
character. There is a large platform facing E.S.E., formed on three sides
by a wall of rough, irregular blocks of selce, apparently of somewhat
primitive construction, and below it are traces of a similar wall, possibly
belonging to an ancient road. Above the platform are one or two walls of
opus quadratum running up the hill, also traces of concrete and mosaic
pavement. It is possible that the earlier remains are those of a primitive
settlement, but their meaning is not very clear.^ If there was an ancient
road running N. and S. here below the platform, it would unite with the
^ To the N. of the tower, lying by the path, I found CLL. xv. 1408 : I do not know the
precise point at which it was discovered.
' On my last visit I found here another stamp (see Not. Scav. 1899, 50)
, 1 M -FVL
I I X O S:
f"
also part of the side of a dolium marked LXVIII in letters 8$ mm. high.
' It is worthy of remark in this connection that Michele Stefano de Rossi {Secottdo Rapporto
sugli studi paUoetnologici^ p. 1 6 from Giornaie Arcadico^ 1 878, vol. Iviii.) mentions the existence of a
neolithic station in the neighbourhood of Torre lacova. I acquired in 1901 a small axe-head of
greenstone, said tq have l)een found at the mouth of the Fosso di Fontana Candida a mile further
W., and was told that many similar fragments had l)een seen in the vineyard. It is also noteworthy
that in the E. bank of the Fosso della Lite, close to the bridge of the Aqua Marcia, a rock-cut
tomb is to be seen.
252
The British School at Rome.
Labicana at the thirteenth milestone. Its existence is, howex'er, rather
doubtful. Upon the Colle della Lite, to the E. of Torre lacova, are the
remains of several villas, none of which present any features of particular
note.
The thirteenth milestone marks the meeting place uf one or two roads.
The existence of a road running from Torre lacova southwards along the
ridge of the hill is made practically certain by the discoverj- of paving-
stones on the K. of the targe reservoir, close to the thirteenth milestone
(see below), and there may have been another skirting the eastern slope of
the hill ; white there was almost certainlj- a third road (the pavingstones \
of which are to be seen in the field-walls, though none perhaps exist j
tM situ) foUowinfj the Claudia and Anio Novus in an easterly direction.
At the thirteenth milestone the register of Gregory IX. mentions a "fundus i
Crispinis et amonetis. Via Labicana milliario plus minus xiii., ex corpore I
massae Fislis," belonging to the patrimonium Lavicanum, perhaps identical
with the " massa Festi praepositi Sacn cubiculi territorio Penestrino "
given by Constantine, with the massa Gaba, to the baptistcrj' of the I
Lateran {Lib. Pont. i. 55 ed. Mommsen). Stevenson {Ciuiitero di Zolico,
f p. 9S) notices that not far off (below Monte Doddo, which lies some |
two miles to the S.K.) an inscription of a (Valc)rius? I'riscus ( . , . . )liL
Festiis aed. pleb. Ccr(ialis) quaestor iirbanus was discovered {C.I.L. xiv.
2768), and, citing an inscription found in the Catacomb of St. Zoticus of a
certain Rcfrigcrius, set up by his father Refrigerius and his mother Valeria
Sebcra Laeontia {sic\ supposes that the Valerii owned property in the
district.
The Via Labicana itself now turns almost at right angles, and runs 30°
li. of S. for a short distance. Its pavement is here easily traceable, though
not for the full width. Just on the E. of it is a large rectangular water
reservoir open to the air, to the \. of which arc the traces of a villa, among
which were found the brickstamps C.I.L. xv. 5153 (134 A.D.), 617, 1318,
2350a and a fragment of a lunate stamp, with only one line of lettering,
bearing the following letters
RCIPIRR!
{Mar]ci Pirri
while to the S. is an extensive system of small passages, 3 feet in width and
about the height of a man, cut in the rock and cemented, which served for
the storage of water. The road soon reaches the Macchia (or brushwood)
c\
Classical Topography of the Roman Campagna. — I. 253
di Fontana Candida. One branch of it, perhaps the original road to
Labici, runs straight on, crossing the railway nearly a mile W. of Monte
Compatri station, where its pavingstones may still be seen, having been
only recently removed. It continues to go southwards, as Rosa pointed
out, and Chaupy {Matson de Cavtpagne d' Horace, ii. 174) before him, past
Monte Mellone ^ and the ruins at I Pallotta which, though largely mediaeval,
are built upon ancient foundations,^ until it reaches the valley between
Monte Porzio Catone and Monte Doddo, where it turns eastwards and
winds up, to Monte Compatri (p. 260) which, as we shall see later, is in all
probability the representative of the ancient Labici.
The Via Labicana,^ (a piece of the paving of which is in situ just
inside the wood, besides which many pavingstones may be seen in the
field-wall), after running 35° E. of S. for a short distance, and passing
between two tombs, the concrete foundations of which still exist, soon
* Upon the N. slope of Monte Mellone there is a ver)' large water resen'oir constructed in
opus reticulatum, sunk below ground, 41*85 m. in length, divided into two aisles, each 5 m. in
height and 3*30 m. in width, by a partition wall 0*89 m. in thickness, pierced by eleven arches,
each 2*35 m. in height and span. Further down the hill, on the north-western slope, are the remains
of the villa which it supplied— a platform supported on the W. side only by a wall, in front of which
is a large cryptoporticus in opus incertum.
On the E. side of the road arc the remains of a villa, broken up to facilitate cultivation, and
some fragments of a very large inscription (the letters are well but not deeply cut, and are 17 to
18 cm. in height), cut upon white marble blocks 20 cm. in thickness. Too little remains to give
any clue to the subject of the inscription as a whole— not even one whole word can be restored.
•* See Lanciani, Bull. Com. 1884, p. 210; C.I.L. xiv. 2925. These ruins are upon the N. of
the modern road from Frascati to Colonna ; but the house on the S. of it is also built upon the
remains of some ancient structure. It is doubtful whether the ancient road from the Macchia di
Fontana Candida to Monte Compatri ran E. of this house, as the modern path docs, or W. of it ;
the latter alternative seems more probable. It may even have descended straight to C. Statuti,
taking up the line of the boundary of the Agro Romano (cf. p. 195). The further question arises
whether the remains on each side of the modern road from Frascati to Colonna belong to the same
group, which would make the antiquity of this latter road extremely doubtful. The present road
is, in many places, of recent ccmstruction. the older road having degenerated into a path. At the
point under discussion, however, the two coincide. Interesting remarks on the subject by Stevenson
are to be found in his MS. notes — vol. cit. f. 23 — of August 21st, 1890. He considers its antiquity
improbable, as it appears to him to pass between buildings belonging to a single group, not only at
Pallotta, but a little further W., to the S. of Casale Statuti, where there are the remains of a large
water reservoir on the S. of the road, and of the platform at a villa on the N., both orientated in the
same direction. In a field- wall near the reservoir Stevenson found i>art of a rectangular brickstamp
DVARI. It seems possible that the ancient road may have run higher up. Stevenson himself
discovered such a road running parallel to the modem one, but could not trace it further than the
large villa known as Le Cappellette*(p. 260). Its direction, however, is such that, if prolonged, it
would have joined the Via Labicana at Ad Quintanas. The existence of some artery of communica-
tion, corresponding to, though perhaps not identical with, the modem road from Frascati to
Colonna, is practically certain.
• Capmartin de Chaupy mentions the pavement of the road as existing in this wood in his day.
S54 TiiK British School at Rome.
turned again sharply and crossed a small stream by a bridge, a good deal
of which is preserved. The direction of the road was here lo" S, of E.
The bridge was quite small, almost a culvert, but built of massive opus
quadratum, and seems to have been 570 m, wide, After crossing the
bridge it again turned and ran 30° S. of E. up the hill, at the top of which
it turned E. again (a piece of pavement is visible in situ here), and ran in
this direction down the E. slope of the hill. The field-wall which marks
the boundary of the wood is full of the pavingstones which have been
removed from it.
The removal of the undergrowth of the Macchia with a view to the
use of the ground for cultivation (the trees had long disappeared) has led to
the discovery of the remains of buildings on the S.W. of the road, including
a piece of a marble cornice from a round mausoleum. Among the bricks
was the stamp C.I.L. xv. 494 3(133 A,P.). It is curious and characteristic
of this particular road that no cutting of any sort has been made to give
it a more level course, but that it runs upon the surface of the ground.
Where the Macchia ends in a point the road leaves it and runs along
a bank forming the boundary between two vineyards, in which its pave-
ment may be seen. After this point it crosses the valley (here it is
followed by the boundary between the Agro Romano and the territory of
Monteporzio), and follows a line still marked by a fieldpath to the points-
man's cottage \V. of the station of Colonna. The fieldwall at the side of
the path is full of the pavingstones of the road, which must have been in
perfect preseiTation not so very many years ago.
The fourteenth milestone fell between this point and the railway station
of Colonna.' Here there must have existed a church of St. Hyacinthus,
inasmuch as we find in the Martyrology {Cod. Bernensis, 4th August),
Via Lavicana milliatio ab Urbe xiiii. nai{a)lis s(an)£(t)i Sac/tinti (sic).
(Stevenson Cimilero di Zotico. p. 94).^ A deverticulum which must have
left it in the Macchia may be seen running S.S.E. on the W. bank of
the Valle I'ignola, just N. of the railway. It probably ran S., along the
line still followed by a fieldpath to I Pallotta, though I know of no certain
traces of it, and was in fact told that it turned sharply to the E. to rejoin
I The ilislancc liclwecn llio 14'h :iiiil 15th niik'sloni'S \i a iriHe tcx) gre.il on Ihe map. This is
tine I" soiiit: inaccuracies in ihe military m.ip, which were unly discoveted when my map was
already drawn, su thai complete correctiun was impossilile.
* There was also on Ihis road a Gitacoml) of the SS. <Juaituor Coronati, the locality of which
is unknown (Stevenson in Kraus's Kcalcuiydnpudic, ii. 113).
Classical Topography of the Roman Campagna. — I. 255
the Via Labicana. Traces do however exist of a road on the S. of the
line running 30° W. of S. in the vineyard N. of the villa described on
p. 253, n. I. Close to the road on the N. side of the line is a block of
selce (a material rarely used for this purpose) bearing the following inscrip-
tion in letters 6 cm. high
msv5 • c
SV5-C0m1^
About 500 yards still further W. is a piece of pavement on the
S. edge of the railway, and about 15 feet above its level, while 100 yards
further W. are several more pavingstones, not /;/ sttUy but apparently
removed from an ancient road discovered when the railway was made.
The Via Labicana is crossed by the railway just W. of the station of
Colonna, where its pavement was discovered in 189L {Not. Scav, 1891,35.)
It is described as being 6 m. in width, with the margins well preserved.
On the left were found the remains of columbaria, on the right large
blocks of marble from the base of some tomb. Remains of the tombs
which flanked it may still be seen in the banks on each side of the railway
and in the adjoining vineyards (a brick tomb which existed N. of the
station has been only recently destroyed). The road was running, appar-
ently, almost due E.
About 500 yards E. of the station the railway cuts through a water
reservoir, considerable remains of which may be seen on its N. side; close
to it in the cutting is a rock-cut drain. On the S. side of the railway-
cutting is a two-storied tomb. The lower chamber is 35 5 m. square
inside, faced with opus reticulatum ; the upper part is also square, and
was perhaps a solid mass of concrete. All these buildings are orientated on
the same line, and perhaps indicate the direction of the road, which may
have passed just S. of them, as 40° S. of E. Its exact course is however
uncertain, as the vineyards through which its line now passes have been
long under cultivation, and all traces of the road itself have been destroyed.
Rosa (/?«//. Inst, 1856, 154) traced the road as going precisely in this
direction, between the vineyard of Mgr. Pentini (the Casale Pentini is called
in the Staff Map Casale S. Paolo) and the vineyard " di Gesu e Maria,"
which is now the property of Signor Eugenio Ciuffa, and known by his name.
The Casale Ciuffa occupies the site of a large villa of opus incertum,
largely restored in the third century A.D. with brickwork and small stones.
256
The British School at Rome.
upon the remains of which it is built. To the N. of it is a lower plat- I
form, carried on vaulted substructures. Excavations made here in i882' f
are described in Not. Scav. 1882, 416 ; 1883, 85 ; 1884, 157 ; and Bull. Com. \
1884, 207. The villa had four terraces and faced E. The first terrace \
had a cryptoporticus 140 m. long, the second formed a rectangle 100 x
30 m. ; the third contained a water reser\'oir of 90X 15 m., while the fourth
terrace had a portico supported by buttresses in opus incertum. Twi
male busts, one representing the orator Lysias, the brickstamps C.I.L- xv. 1
1327, 2328b, 2329 (beginning of the second century A. D.), 2340 (probably the 1
first century a.d.), and the lead pipes C.I.L. xiv. 2775, 2776 (= C.I.L. >
78G2, 7871) were found in the course of the excavations. The former bears J
the inscription, A. Fabius Parai»i[lius /€c\ the latter C. Vetknius It is
wrongly stated in A'ol. Scav. 1882, 416, that both inscriptions occurred on 1
the same pipe, which is said to have been found /« situ, built into the wall
of a circular piscina 10 m. in diameter. Two inscriptions are built into the i
walls of the Casale, C.I.L. xiv. 2770, 3782.' The exact locality of their ]
discovery is unfortunately unknown — had this been certain, the contro-
versy as to the site of Labici might have been satisfactorily settled in
Fabretti's time, for, while both are sepulchral, the text of the first of them' |
runs D.M. Pnrthcnio arcario reifiiblicae Lnviaiiioniui Qnintanensium.
is obvious that the respublica Lavicanonim Quintanensinm can be nothing
else than the mimicipaJityof the roadside station .\A Quintanas, mentioned
by the Itineraries as the first station on the Via Labicana, 15 miles distant
from Rome, which took the place of the destroyed hilltown of Labici,*
situated, according to Strabo {I.e. p. 235), a little more than 15 miles from
Rome, on a hill on the right of the road. Recent discoveries have, however,
finally decided the question. Some 700 yards E.N.E. of the Casale Ciuffa
is the concrete core of a very large tomb. The upper part is round, while
1 Wilh 2770 iv
situnlLxl I
>1 far fr..i
biickstamp, C.I.I.. nv
ilion Ad QuintanaH : i
ions a grove sacred I
X busl of Lucius Vei
462 c (from the praedia (Juinlanensia, which
c C.I. I.. \v. p, 8), also Ihe Greek inscription
) the Muses, .i slatuc of Venns, a statue o(
IS, and three others. See Vilale, De efifidt
KaiU-l l.G.I. 101:, which 1
Domilian (Vitta Albani), a
Lahiii dissfrlalia (177S), ]i. 36; Litlerc di WimkHmaiia, ed. Fea, iii. 247-151; (Javaccppi,
fia><olla d'.Uiluhi Sl.Uiie, \. 2, Stevenson, CimiUro di Zotieo, p. 93 (who cites a letter of Lami,
dated Atay I.^lh, 1758a). The inscriptions C.I.L. xiv. 2773. 2783, were also fuund here, and the
ftagnicnts ibid. r](>7, 2771, 2778. In the LdUre di IS'iiifkeliHaiiii, cd. Ken, iii. 246, there is a
notice of excaration.s in the Botghesc property at Torre \'i'rde (which I have not been able to
locate) in which were found many fluted culiimns of marble anil granite.
' De«au (C.I.I., xiv. p. 275, note 5) denies, but on iiisufficienl croiinds, the theory-, advanced
first by Ficortini, thai the site of Ai! CJiiinlanas » as diflorenl from thai of the old town of Labici.
Classical Topography of the Roman Campagna. — I. 257
the base is square, and gives the probable direction of the Via Labicana
as 1 2° S. of E. at this point. There is a sepulchral chamber in the upper
part of the tomb, but the only entrance is from the top, through a narrow
shaft 20 feet deep.^ Just to the E. of this tomb, in the Vigna Moretti,
there was discovered in 1899 a marble base, now preserved in the municipal
museum at Frascati, which bears a dedicatory inscription to the Emperor
Maximian from the ordo Labicanorum Quintanensium} The base had,
however, previously served for other uses. Upon the front there are traces
of an earlier inscription consisting of 16 lines, most of which was
obliterated to make room for the later ; while on the left side are (probably)
the names of the consuls of 196 A.D., C. Domitius Dexter ii. and L.
Valerius Messalla Thrasea Priscus, and of the quattuorviri iure diamdo of
the municipality. The base originally supported a statue, the lower part
of which (if not the whole) appears to have been cut out of the same
block of marble, as the pedestal of the statue coalesces with the upper
part of the base. The difficulty of deciphering the two successive inscrip-
tions of the front of the base is increased by the fact that the whole was
erased after the damnatio memoriae of Maximian, while the lateral inscrip-
tion was much damaged by being fixed against a wall and covered with
mortar. The text is given by Tomassetti in the Bullettino Comunale for
1899, 289, and repeated in the Notizie degli Scavi, 1900, 50. His repro-
duction of it is unsatisfactory only in that he does not distinguish the
letters which belong to the two inscriptions ; and a very careful examination
of the original has not enabled me to decipher more than he has done.
I have, however, given my own copies, as they present some slight
differences.
Of the first inscription I could read hardly anything, except in the last
5 of the 16 lines, which run thus :
SC P
COIL TO
ST T
X NT
EX
BAT
DIOLVABATIANO
FRATRI
•LDDD-
* Tomassetti i^Bull, Com. 1899, 288, Not, Scav, 1900, 50) gives a fragment of an inscription in
travertine, with letters 22 cm. high, which may have belonged to this tomb.
^ This is most probably the meaning of the abbreviation Q.Q.
S
as8
The British School at Rome.
(June 1st, 196 A.D.?)
The inscription on the side I read thus :
KIVNIS
DEXTROIIC
TRASIOH / SS
NESTHL-BAE
SINCHAERONI
nil viR
The second inscription of the front 1 read thus :
LT'
MAXIMIANO- S
INBICTO
ORDO LABICAN
QQ-
■DN-MQEIVS
The topographical importance is, however, certain ; and it is further to
be noted that many pavingstones of the ancient road were found when
this base was discovered,' and also blocks of sperone {tapis Gabimts). slabs
of marble, cornices, &c., attributed by Tomassetti, with some measure of
probability, to the Forum of Labici Quintanenses, which must have been,
iike Fidenae in Imperial times (see Not. Scav. 1889, 108 ; C.I.L. xiv.
p. 453), a small roadside village at the junction of several by-roads with
the highroad. Rosa noticed some remains of water reservoirs here, de-
stroyed since his time 'to serve as materia! for the vineyard walls, which
are full of bricks, masses of concrete and opus signinum, paving stones, &c.
The distance of the large mausoleum from Rome, following the line of
the Via Labicana, is only just over 1 5 miles, so that it is practically certain
that the site of Labici Quintanenses has at last been discovered. From this
it follows that Labici must be placed on the hills to the S., and its
identification with Monte Compatri is almost unavoidable. Rosa (/. c.)
mentions two ancient deverticula leading to Monte Compatri, one of which
t-\V
dans lafiuulk' it -v:
the T in Ihc first iir
f Cajimnrtin dc Chaupy il
large loiiil). Ma
lo the first iniicription.
mid stem thai some of the pavement was preserved
'II de Campagnt d' Horait, a. 174: "une des traces
li [la Pasolina]...<lans la vigne
n Tombeau qui n'eloit pas de la derniere classe."
r\
Classical Topography of the Roman Campagna. — I. 259
leaves the Via Labicana near the Casale Ciuffa,^ the other a little to the E.
of the large tomb. To these may be added a third, which I have traced
on the south side only of the modern road from Frascati to Colonna, and
which runs parallel to the first-mentioned, and rather more to the W. On
its W. side, at a point where it leaves the modern highroad, there is the
platform of a villa ^ built of polygonal blocks of selce, a style of construction
which is far commoner in the district of Tivoli than in the Alban hills,
while in the immediate neighbourhood of Rome it is unknown (p. 148).
There it is a survival of an earlier style : here, though the polygonal style
was used in the earliest times (p. 251), selce being the material employed,
the existence of tufa, sperone, and peperino, all of them capable of being
easily worked into rectangular blocks, soon led to the adoption of opus
quadratum in its stead. Where this style of construction occurs in the
Alban hills, therefore, in buildings of Roman date, it must be regarded as
a mere imitation, intended probably for decorative purposes.
On the E. side of our road the remains of a large water reservoir were
noticed by Stevenson (/. c). Fragments of marble, brick, &c., from the
villa to which it belonged may be seen in the dry walls which flank the
high road. Higher up the same side is the Casale Mazzini, which probably
rests upon ancient foundations, and in the vineyard attached to it are
fragments of a building of opus quadratum of sperone, including a column
40 cm. in diameter.
At the Casale Mazzini there are a large number of pavingstones, and
also at the chapel on the path we are following ; and a little higher up are
several in situ on the E. side of the path. We soon reach the remains of
a large villa, which probably lay on the eastern edge of the ancient road.
The villa was of brickwork. A pavement of black mosaic is actually cut
through by the modern path.
The Casale Brandolini, a little further up, on the E. side of the modern
path, is built upon an ancient water reservoir circular in shape, constructed
upon a very curious plan and in an extremely good state of preservation.
Outside are fragments of marble and brick.
The course of the road after the Casale Brandolini is doubtful, but it
^ Another deveriiculum ran from about this point northwards, passing through the vineyards of
Lc Marmorelle to the modern Via Casilina (p. 237), while another, probably diverging from it and
not from the Labicana directly, ran eastwards, skirting the northern slopes of the hill on which the
village of Colonna stands (ib.),
' There is much brick lying about. I also saw a drum of a tufa column 0*46 m. in diameter.
S 2
26o The Briti.sh School at Rome.
probably followed the modern path along tlie E. slopes of Monte Doddo
(upon which, as far as I have been able to discover — and Stevenson's
testimony bears me out — there are no ruins whatsoever), and on the S. of
it Joined the road from the Macchia di Fontana Candida and Pallotta to
Monte Compatri (p. 253).
We may now turn to the first of the two roads described by Rosa. In
the neighbourhood of the Fontana del Pischero are pavingstones which
may have come cither from this road or from the Via Labicana, It must
have passed just E. of the Casale Ciuffa, and thence if ascends due south-
wards : a lai^c number of pavingstones are to be seen in it, not tn situ.
About 250 yards from the modem highroad, and on the E. of the path, are
the remains of a very large villa, known as Le Cappellette, and consisting
ofa huge wall supporting the earth on the N. and \V. sides. There are
eight niches on the N., one at the N.W. angle, and four on the W. These
last vary in height according to the slope of the ground, which rises steeply
towards the S. so that while the last but one measures 3-8o m. from the
floor to the spring of the arch, the last measures only 1 m. The niches
have floors of opus signinum, as if they had contained fountain jets ; the
one at the N.W. angle has in fact, a channel (014 m. wide) of tiles to
protect a water-pipe.
Upon the platform itself no buildings are traceable, but there are many
fragments of marble, painted stucco, &c. ; and Stevenson saw pavingstones
(not in silu) along the vineyard paths towards both the Colle di S. Andrea
and La Pasolina. He also noticed, near a hut not far off, the drum of a
marble column o'i6 m. in diameter, a fluted pilaster, 025 m. in width, and
a brick bearing the well-known stamp OPDOL-EX PR M AVRELI
ANTO I NINI AVG N PORT LIC {C.I.L. xv. 4o8d). Close to this point
our road is joined by the path from Pallotta mentioned above (p. 353,
n. 2). Hence it ascends to Fontana Laura where it is joined by the second
of the two deverticula mentioned by Rosa. This at present retains no posi-
tive traces of antiquity. At the house at point 28 1 on the W, of it are many
pavingstones, the provenance of which is uncertain, and also the large
marble drum ofa column, some bricks, &c. After the Fontana Laura the
path continues in a straight direction for some way, and then turns slightly
to the W. and begins to ascend the hill known as the Salita del Romitorio,'
' VilaIc, [ofi. cil. pp. 32-24) refers (o ihis road as a Roman road, and states that il stalls from
\
Classical Topographv of the Roman Campacna.— !. 261
leading to the cemetery. About half-way up this hill is a wall in opus
quadratum, about 100 yards lotifj, running E. and W., serving as a sup-
porting wall to the vinej-ard above it Five courses of masonry are visible,
and more must be concealed behind the accumulation of earth. The
blocks of the second, third, and fourth courses from the bottom are
res|)ectively fifty-four, sixty, and sixty-eight cm. in height, and the
stones (which are arranged as stretchers only) vary in length from 1-40 to
2'I5 m. The \.E. angle of the platform has fallen away, but the wall on
the E. side of it may still be traced. The masonry is extremely neat, and
the wall is probably nothing but the supporting wall of the platform of a
large villa or, possibly, of a temple, though it may appear unnecessarily
massive for this purpose. Upon the platform we saw the capital of a
column in tufa 045 m. in diameter, with an abacus 060 m. square and
0'09 m. high. That it should have anything to do with the fortifications of
Labici is quite impossible. It is situated a good deal too far down the hill,
and the style of the masonry (I-'ig. 22) and the size of the blocks are not
The British School at Rome.
those of the period to which such fortifications would have beloi^ed.'
Remains of the city walls did, however, exist in Rosa's time at the top of
the Salita del Romitorio, just below the modern village, the construction of
which was compared by him to that of the Tabularium at Rome and
of the walls of Ardea and other early Latin cities. They were destroyed
when the modern cemetery was constructed, but several of the blocks may
be seen in the cemetery wall and in the bank of earth supporting the path
which runs below it Three which I took at random measured 71 x S9X 33
cm,, 47 X 46 cm., 70 X 36 cm., but whether these are the exact original
dimensions is of course doubtful.
The village of Monte Compatri contains no traces of antiquity except
a cippus built into the front of a house in one of the streets to the S. of the
Piazza Romana. which bears the inscription Deverlicuium privatum {C-I.L.
xiv. 42313. This cippus was found in the cellar of the house into which it
is now built. The pavement of the road to which the inscription refers,
which was that ascending from ITallotta {p. 253^ was also discovered, but
was destroyed. See Tomassetti, Mus. llal. ii. p. 503.
Stevenson copied, in August 1890, over the door of No. 53 Via deln
Mercato, the following inscription on a cinerary urn (?) of marble, ^B
D ■ M-
MACROTHYMIAE
The inscription was surrounded by a rectangular border and the
lettering was extremely good. He also notices the existence in the village
of a few unimportant ancient fragments.
In the vicinity of Monte Compatri was found C.I.L. xiv. 2781.
At Caricara, half a mile from Monte Compatri towards Colonna, was
found the sepulchral inscription of lulia lusta {C.I.L. xiv. 2784).
Besides the two roads just mentioned, which leave the Via Labicana
near Colonna to ascend to Monte Compatri, another ancient road (which is
perhaps the original Via Labicana) ascends direct to Monte Compatri from
the thirteenth mile of the road (p. 253). It is possible, too, that the road
between Monte Compatri, Monte Porzio and Frascati, is ancient ; Nibby
conjectured that this was the case {Sc/iedc, i. 63). Whether the name of
the village may legitimately be derived from " Compitum," a name which
would belong rather to the station Ad Quintanas, is doubtful ; but if so,
' Further N.W. are traces of snolher villa in opus rcliculatum.
1
Classical Topography of the Roman Campagna. — I. 263
it may be noted how absolutely the name of Labici has perished. Cicero
(^Pro Plancio, 9, 23) mentions it, with Bovillae and Gabii, as in such decay
as hardly to have a representative to send to the Feriae Latinae, while^
Strabo calls it IlaXatoi/ icriafia KareairaafUvov (v. 3, 9, p. 237; cf. 3, 2, p. 230,
where he ranks it with Collatia, Antemnae, and Fidenae among old
'jro\i')(yia, vvv hi K&fiat, KTijaet^ lSia>T&v. See CLL, xiv. p. 274-S)'
In the list of the Bishops attending the council of 313 A.D. we find the
name of the Bishop of Quintana or Quintiana (/>. of the Labicani
Quintanenses). After this time we find no mention of such a bishop, but
from 649 until nil we hear of a Bishop of Labici (the see is doubtless
the same) to whom Tusculum was also subject. In the twelfth century
there is a fluctuation between Labici and Tusculum as a title of this
bishop, and after nil the latter prevails. The interval between 313 and
649 may be bridged by supposing that Sub Augusta (p. 228) was, during this
period, the titular church of this bishop. See Duchesne, Arclu Soc. Rom. di
Storia Patria, 1892, 497.
To the S. of the village, on the. path up to the convent of S. Silvestro,
are the remains of a water reservoir. At the convent (which may, or may
not, stand on ancient foundations) is preserved in the sacristy the in-
scription published by Raggi, Co//t A /bant\p, 131.^ It is a Latin sepulchral
inscription transliterated into Greek. A mile fo the S. of Monte Compatri
is the lofty hill called Monte Salomone (773 m.), identified by Francesco
Antonio Vitale (De Oppido Labici Dissertatio, Rome 1778), with the old
Labici. The grounds for this identification are quite insufficient. The
hill is not, like Monte Compatri, approached by a large number of ancient
roads, and shows no signs of having ever been the site of a city, for which it
does not offer sufficient space. On the S.W. slope are fragments of brick,
tile, and pottery, and cubes of opus reticulatum ; and on the top of the
hill are similar fragments with a little white marble and remains of a brick
and concrete wall. Vitale (pp:cit 25) found non exiguum tnurorum ambitum^
atque lapidum congeriem. The top of the hill is a plateau measuring about
a hundred yards from E. to W. and forty from N. to S. At the E. end is
a ditch, and at the W. traces of another, while excavation has taken
place in the centre of the S. side. It is not very likely that these are
^ It b, however, given in C.I.L, xiv. (No. 221*) among the Inscriptiones falsae vel cUienae^ as
belonging in reality to Velitrae, and is publbhed among the inscriptions of the latter city. (CLL.
X. 6608.)
364
The British School at Rome.
the remains of the ditches of a primitive camp. There has certainly beetr
a Roman villa, or perhaps a temple, on the site, the construction of which
would probably have obliterated any traces of early earthworks, and it is
more probable that they are simply excavations for the purpose of I
removing building material. Not a trace of early pottery nor of walls
opus quadratum, such as we should have expected to find upon the site of
an early city, could be discerned,
A mile to the E. of Monte Compatri, on the Colle di Fontana Molara,
Stevenson observed two passages cut in the rock and lined with opus
signinum, which served as water reservoirs. On the surface of the ground
above them were fragments of a building of the Roman period. On this
hill, near the boundary line of the commune of Monte Compatri. which .
passes on the E. side of it, was found the inscription C.I.L. xiv. 27S6.
v.— From Ad Quintanas to Ad Statuas (S. Cesakeo)
{from tfu Fifteenth to tlu Eighteenth MiUstotu).
We may now return to the Via Labicana, which we left at the fifteenth
lie. The village of Coloniia occupte-^ a lofty situation upon a conical
hill, but contains no traces of antiquity except some architectural frag-
ments in white marble, the provenance of which is unknown. The
inscriptions discovered in the territory of Colonna include C.I.L. xiv.
2769 (a round bronze plate bearing the inscription Narcisi [sic] Ti.
Claudi I Britatinic \ i supra \ insiilas, which does not refer to the well-
known Narcissus, the minister of Claudius) 2781 (at the casa Passavanti),
2785, 2787. The name Colonna ' does not appear before the year
1093, and cannot be connected with Ad Columen mentioned by Livy (iii.
23. 6), which was near the pass of Algidus (Nibby, Analist, \\. 162). To
the N.W. of it, S. of the Casale Ricci, and about a kilometre from the rail-
way station, the remains of a villa were discovered in 1890, when the
railway was constructed {Not. Scav., 1891, 36),
The cutting under the hill crowned by the house known as La Paso-
lina produced various fragments of marble, stucco, &c. {Not. Scai'. 1892, 24,
' In Stevenson's MS. nol
la Colonna dice li' avet (rovati
con bolli. Pare chc la vigna sia dal lato
and signed M. PasquaU,
!) Ihe followinE is inw
Monle Compatri."
— " I-uigi Moscalelli sotto
TCB 600, pillule, dei tegoli
note is dated Nov. 1894.
Classical Topography of the Roman Campagna.— I. 265
BulL Com, 1892, 374 ; see also BulL Com, 1892, 358, for a Greek inscrip-
tion found hereabouts) also the following brickstamp (unpublished)
AQL-ANTOxNINI-M-'S^.i
The Via Labicana, directly after leaving Ad Quintanas^ is crossed by
the modern road, which ascends on the left to the village of Colonna and
descends on the right to the Via Casilina at the Osteria della Colonna,
(p. 238). The continual cultivation has destroyed all traces of the road for
quite a mile, though Chaupy {Maison de Campagne d Horace, ii. 174)
mentions considerable traces of the road in the fields beyond the tomb,
and Rosa traces its course below (/>., N. of) the Colle di S. Andrea.^
Many pavingstones, probably from this road, are to be found in the vine-
yard walls, N.W. of the Casale Martini, about the site of the sixteenth
milestone. Not far from here, in the Vigna dei Mattei (ColHcola or Valle
Zitta), excavations in 1890 brought several statues, &c., to light {^Not, Scav,
1890, 89), notably a bust, believed by Helbig to represent Fulvia, the
second wife of Marcus Antonius (illustrated in Monumenti dei Lincei, vol.
i. pt 3, p. 573), and an old countryman to4d me that a mosaic pavement
had been found there. The same man stated that in his youth a paved
road had been found going from the Casale Martini straight in the direc-
tion of Colonna, which would certainly have been the Via Labicana. E. of
the Casale Martini are heaps of broken pavingstones recently excavated,
which we were told belonged to a road, the pavement of which had been
found entire, coming N.E. from the S. side of the Colle di S. Andrea.
A path coming from this direction, just S. of the Casale, is full of
pavingstones (not in situ). If our information as to the direction of
the road discovered was trustworthy, and the pavingstones did not belong
to the Labicana, then a road from Labici must have fallen into the
Via Labicana at this point, possibly going on to the Osteria della
Colonna.
About two hundred yards E. of the Casale Martini, just after we have
crossed into the territory of Zagarolo, the pavement of the Via Labicana
reappears, and may be traced through a ploughed field, running almost
due E. for more than a mile, until the modern road from Monte Compatri
^ See Stevenson, MS. cit, f. 19, where another brickstamp found in a field wall below La
Colonna on this side is also given, A NN I AE CO.
^ Here, in July 1890, Stevenson saw a brickstamp (of which a rubbing is given in MS, cit,
f. 19). . .
•iCREC- PKOC
366 The British School at Rome.
to S. Cesareo is reached. N. of the site of the seventeenth milestone are
the remains of a villa; and not far from it, in the Campo Gillaro,
the sepulchral inscription C.I.L. xiv. 2827 was found. It is now at S.
Cesareo.
For eight hundred yards more, up to the site of the eighteenth mile-
stone, the traces of the road once more disappear, but just before this point
is reached, its direction is given by a tomb which, facing N.N.E., probably
stood on the S. side of the road. To the \V. of this tomb is the platform
of a large villa supported by a wall with niches, constructed of alternate
bands of several brick courses and of thin oblong chips of selce. The
destruction of this villa has furnished materials for the field-walls on the
modern highroad. To the S. of the tomb is a large reser^-oir, much
below the ground level, having three parallel chambers, each 412 m. wide
and (originally) twenty-five or thirty m. in length. To the S.W. of this
reservoir, on the S. side of the field road,' are the remains of another
villa in opus reticulatum, once richly decorated with marble. We were
told that bodies {doubtless buried there in later times) had been discovered
in tlie ruins. A mile to the north, W. of the Macchia Carsolese. are the
remains of a villa, and some way further N.W., on a hill 253 m. above sea-
level, the ruins of another, with a water reservoir to the N. of it. Beyond
the site of the eighteenth milestone the line of the Via Labicana is traceable
in the fields going E.S.E. ; and in the lane going S. from the modem road,
35 paces from it, and just to the VV. of the Casale di S. Cesareo, its pave-
ment is visible, running 33° S. of E. Its width is not determinable, but
must have been at least 12 feet. Many of the pavingstones show deep
ruts. The path going southwards from here, which would join the Via
Latina at the pass of Algidus, very likely represents the line of an ancient
road (as Nibby thinks — see the article " Vie " in Nardini, Roma Antica (ed.
' The i\n[iquily o\ Ihis road, which goes direct from 5. Cesaieo inio ihe modem road lo Monle
Com)>atri (ihe Via Maremmana infeiiore), is exlremely doublful, Ihough Westphal (Rimisrkc h'am-
foffte, p. So) maintains it. aij^uing rioni its !<lraight iliruction and the lar^e number of broken
pavingstones which were in his time lo be found in it. He makes il a continuation of the load
ftom Krascali to Monle Compatri, which probably is ancient, though the modem road winds far
more Ihan the ot.l riKiil can have done (si^e map). In the map of .^meti a load is shown as ancient
which si-cms to tun frum this point northwards, where il liecomes lost. Before this il is crossed by
a ro.id from the X. side of Colonna lu Zagatolo. Theie is probably some confusion between ihe
roadi that run frum the Osleria Jclla Colonna to P.illavicina and Cavamonte respectively, that
which we have sup^nsed lo run from ihe i^ih mile of ihe \"ia Labicana to the I4[h of the \'ia
I'racne-tin.i. and Ihe ]i.iih which runs, leaving the deverticulum last mentiLned on the right, past
Ca>ale U Velrice to the hill on the \V. of Zagarolo.
Classical Topography of the Roman Campagna. — I. 267
iv., p. 109). After half a mile a branch (perhaps also ancient) goes oflf
from it to Rocca Priora (probably Corbio).
The Via Labicana now diverges again from the line which the modern
road takes, and runs just on the S. of the avenue ascending to the Villa
Rospigliosi, and its pavement reappears about a hundred yards to the
S.W. of it, running 35** E. of S.
The site of the eighteenth milestone falls approximately 1 50 yards W.
of the Gasale of S. Cesareo, and nearly half a mile to the W. of the Villa
Rospigliosi. The precise point at which the station Ad Statuas, placed by
the Itineraries 3 miles beyond Ad Quintanas, (and therefore 18 miles from
Rome), is to be fixed, is doubtful ; but it is probable that it stood at or near
the Casale of S. Cesareo, at the point where the roads to Monte Compatri
and Algidus diverged to the right, and the road to Praeneste to the left,
following the same line as the present road from Rome to Palestrina, which,
up to S. Cesareo, is the modern Via Casilina. In Roman times* the Via
Labicana by means of this deverticulum afforded a route to Praeneste,
about a mile longer than the Via Praenestina itself, and rather more hilly.
(Half a mile from S. Cesareo the modern Via Casilina (which probably
follows here, as before, the line of an ancient road) leaves it and turns S.E.
keeping parallel to the ancient Via Labicana.) After about two miles a
branch road diverges from it to the N. passing through the valley below
Zagarolo to the W., and thence following the modern road to the Osteriola
di Cavamonte, where it crosses the Via Praenestina, and goes on by way of
Passerano and Corcolle to join the Via Tiburtina at Ponte Lucano. The
village of Zagarolo occupies a position of remarkable strength, being built
upon a narrow ridge nearly a mile in length, protected on either side by
deep ravines, with very steep approaches on the N. and S. It is very
probable that the site was occupied by some city in ancient times, but
there are no remains of ancient walls or buildings, nor any positive indi-
cations of ancient habitation ; nor have we any clue to an identification
with any of the Latin cities named by classical authors. The village
contains several granite columns, part of a fine fountain basin of red
porphyry, and three or four inscriptions (Nibby, Analisi^ iii. p. 740, CJ.L,
xiv. 2830 sqq., where several inscriptions found in the neighbourhood are
also given).
About a mile beyond the turning of the road to Zagarolo the ancient
pavement of the road to Palestrina begins to appear in good preservation,
268 The British School at Rome.
just on the \. of the modern road, and continues to run by it for more
than a mile until it reaches the chapel of S. Agapito, where it joins another
deverticulum— the road which leaves the northern branch of the N'^iaJ
Latina at the Casale Mezza Selva, and, after it has crossed the modem Vial
Casilina (which is here slightly to the \, of the Labicana), is called the
Olmata di Palestrina (p. 272),
Returning to S. Cesareo, at the Casale itself we find few remams of
Fin. 13. — Sarcoi'H.
antiquity, except several blocks of white marble. Rosa tells us howe\'ep
{Bull. Inst. 1856, 154) that in 1855 a large building was found close to the
road, which probably belonged to the station, and that several statues are
said to have been discovered, which may (he thinks) have been those which
gave their name to it. The Villa Rospigliosi contains several statues and
architectural fragments (Fig. 23),' including several columns of grey marble ;
also the inscriptions C.I.L. xiv. 2827, 2829. 2828, which was once here, is
' The same photograph (wiiich I took in January, 1900) will be found Tcptoduccd i;
New Talcs o/Old Xome. p. 33.
I
Classical Topographv of the Roman Campagna. — I. 269
now lost, and the best specimens of statuary, including a set of portrait
busts, have been sold to a dealer.
In the valley below the villa, to the E., is a large nymphaeum of opus
mixtum, near which is the base of a column 2 feet in diameter, similar to
those at the Villa Rospigliosi, which may therefore have been discovered
here (but see below). Nihhy{Ana/isif iii. 1 16) takes this building to be the
ruined church of S. Cesareo, which gave its name to the place. It is more
probable, however, that the building is a nymphaeum, and that the name
S. Cesareo really comes from the fact that this is the site of the villa of
Julius Caesar, who, as we know from Suetonius (c. 83), possessed a villa in
the territory of Labici, at which he made his will. To the N.W. is a
water reservoir against the hill-side, which originally had at least three
separate chambers. Ficoroni {LabicOy 61) states that in his time there
were ancient ruins on the site of the Villa Rospigliosi, and that granite
columns and other antiquities were found there when the villa was
constructed.
VI. — From Ad Statuas (S. Cesareo) to Ad Bivium (S. Ilario)
{from tlie Eighteenth to tJie Thirtieth Milestone),
From the Villa Rospigliosi (to the E, of S. Cesareo) the Via Labicana
continues to run in a south-easterly direction as far as the Fontanile della
Pidocchiosa, its pavement being in situ at intervals. After this it is lost
for a while, but reappears again as soon as it reaches the ridge of the Colle
Pietrazzino,^ where its line is marked for some way by a field-wall which is
built of the pavingstones taken from it, though in one place the pavement
has been left /// situ^ just on the S.W. side of the field-wall. The road
ascends slowly, passing the remains of a villa on the S.W. After the field-
wall ends it is completely buried under the soil, passing through a thick
plantation of broom ; but fragments of selce and brick at intervals, and
the conformation of the ground, show that it ran straight on towards the
Torraccio di Mezza Selva, descending into the Valle degli Appesi and then
ascending again. A few large blocks of selce are seen where it reaches
^ It is possible that a path crossing the Colle della Casa Romana in a S.W. direction, and
coming from the so-called Via Praenestina Nuova, may follow the line of an ancient road, which
would have fallen into the Via Labicana not far from this point, but the evidence is inadequate.
270
The British School at Rome.
the bottom of the Valle degli Appesi ' : beyond this again, however, is a
thick cane brake.
Just to the W. of the Torraccio di Mezza Selva the Via Labicana U
crossed, almost at right angles, by a path which probably foilou-s the Unc
of an ancient road * from Algidus to Praeneste and the Via Praenestina,
None of its pavement is left in situ, but a few loose pavingstones are seen
at one or two points S.W, of the Torraccio, though none N.E. A mile
S.W. of the Torraccio a road diverges from it at right angles, which may
lX)ssibly come from S. Ccsareo (see Cell's map), descending steeply to the
Valle della Mola and ascending even more steeply past the Fonlanile di
Galloro through a cutting to a branch of the Via Latina of which we shall
have to speak further on. The existence of many loose pavingstones
along the road and at the fountain makes its antiquity certain. It is, in
fact, traceable beyond the main Via Latina as far as the Via Ariana, and
possibly even further. It is probable that the road descending the valley
in a N.E. direction to join the Via Labicana is ancient (see p. 271), At
point 391, E. of the Fontanile di Galloro, is a water reservoir of sclcc
concrete with four chambers.
Beyond this point the road which we are following from the Torraccio
di Mezza Selva towards Algidus passes a large hut village. The huts arc
constructed of broom, with foundations of earth and stones ; there is even
a small chapel, built in the same style. A little way beyond it are many
fragments of selce (besides one whole pavingstone), brick, and some
mosaic cubes, and a concrete floor in the path. Further on the course of
the road is quite uncertain, and in the forest it is absolutely lost.
The Torraccio di Mezza Selva (otherwise known as Torre dei Marmi'j
is a small mediaeval castle, almost circular, with the E. and W. ends
flattened ; it has four towers, besides a gate tower on the W. side. It is
constructed of fragments of pavingstones, marble (one of which, over the
entrance, is a fragment of decorative sculpture in relief of late date), and
' Ii is, again, possilik- ihat an ancient road ran along the Valle d^li App«si, coming perhaps
torn the Via I'raenestina Nuova, and followinE the communal boundary line lietween Zagirolo and
Palestrina. and goine on Ihence up lo Algidus. But there is no delinite evidence of its existence,
and the configuration of the ground is such as lo lend itself lo the construction of imaginary lines of
road.
^ So Faliielti, Inunflicnts, ]>. 416 and map, Chaupy, Mahon de CaoifagHt d'Horate, iii. 465.
' Fabrvlti {Iiiurip/ii/nes, p. 415) speaks of it as Lu Cimmcro, and under this name it appears
in his and Ameli's ma]is. Kicoroni {Labito, 37) supposes it to have been the site of the station of
Ad Ouintanas : he gives (ih. 40) an engraving of a ring found there, and (i^. S6) of ^ glaHS flumbta
vvilh'thc inscription KIK. (C././.. i». 6086, 40).
\
Classical Topography of the Roman Campagna.— I. 271
tufa. The stone corbels which supported the upper gallery round the wall
are well preserved on the S. side, and there is a necessarium of the usual
type on the N. side of the gate-tower. The Via Labicana passed close to
this castle, the erection of which most likely contributed to the abandon-
ment of the road.
Between S. Cesareo and this castle were discovered the inscriptions
CJ.L, xiv. 2825, 2826, erected by Romulus, son of Maxentius (who was not
yet emperor) in honour of his father and mother.
They run as follows : Domino patri M{arc6) Valerio Maxentio viro
clarts{simo) Val{erius) Rotnulus djarissimus) p{uer) pro atnore caritatis eius
patri benignissimo : and : Dominae matri Valeriae Maxitnillae nob(ilissimae)
fem{inae) Val{erius) Romulus djarissimus) p{uer) pro aviore adfectionis eius
matri carissimae,
Victor {epit, 40) tells us that Maxentius at the time that he was made
emperor lived in villa sex millibus ab urbe discreta itinere Lavicano, It is
possible that he is alluding to the locality where these inscriptions were
found, the number of miles being corrupt.^ Near here was also found the
waterpipe C,I.L. xiv. 2838 = xv. 7889 {Nicephor, FL Sulpiciani ser. fee) now
in the possession of Massimiliano Bertini of Zagarolo : to the same owner
belonged a plain mirror and a lamp with the figure of Minerva giving her
vote for Paris, found in a tomb near by, and seen by Stevenson in 1882
(MS. cit, f 2'). Cecconi {Storia di Palestrina, p. 19, xi. 36) says that a
sarcophagus inscribed with the name Nysillos was found here.
Hence the road descended, still in a S.E. direction, ascended slightly
through a defile (natural, not artificial), and then descended again to the
Fosso della Mola. There are no traces of its pavement except a few loose
pavingstones, a little to the W. of the Fosso.
On the W. bank of the stream runs a path, which probably follows the
line of an ancient road.^ Going S.W. it soon reaches the Fontanile di
Galloro and joins the road described above ; going N.E. it ascends
the hill and after rather less than a mile, reaches the modern Via
Casilina and crossing it at right angles, falls into the line of the Olmata
di Palestrina.
This road is certainly ancient from the chapel called S. Agapito
^ Whether these inscriptions were found in the ruins £. of the Villa Rospigliosi is quite
doubtful : but if so, it would tend to show that the villa of Julius Caesar had remained a part of the
imperial domain ever since his day.
' So Westphal, Romische Kampagne^ p. 77, and Kiepert, C.I.L, xiv., map.
27*
The Br[ti3h School at Rome.
(where it unites with the road from S. Cesareo described on p. 268) on-
wards to Praeneste, as frequent remains of pavement in si'/u show, and the
S.W. portion is probably ancient also. There are no traces of pavement to
be seen, but about half a mile from S. Agapito remains of walls and floors
may be seen in the cutting of the road on each side, but do not appear to
hAve been broken into by it, and are orientated in correspondence with its
line, so that they are probably tombs belonging to it To the E. of
S. Agapito are two masses of concrete of doubtful antiquity, but not
orientated on the line of either of the two roads. A path marked Via
Consolare on the military map. which runs southwards from a point near
S. Agapito. has not a single trace of antiquity. On the other hand, a path
crossing it at right angles, leaving the Olmata di Falestrina near the Colle
deir Aquila, and running eastwards as far as the road from I'alcstrina to j
Yalmontone (which follows the line of an ancient road : see below, p. 277) is
most probably of ancient origin.' It may perhaps have run on to Cave
and thence, still in a straight line, along the course now followed by the
road to Piglio, which has almost certainly succeeded to an ancient road.
At the point where the road of which we have been speaking crosses the 1
Via Labicana at right angles, there are remains of tombs in opus quadratum j
on either side of the latter. The Via Labicana has some remains of
mediaeval paving at the crossing of the stream, but just beyond it there is
a small piece of Roman pavement /« si'/u, besides several loose paving-
stones along the track of the road, which soon diverges slightly from the
modern lane, until, a little way beyond Fontana Chiusa (which lies close to
the twenty- second Roman milestone) it is 70 yards to the S.W. Here the
bank of the road is clearly seen in the field, with some pavingstones of
the N.E. edge clearly lit situ. Ficoroni {Lnbico, 32) and Capmartin de
Chaupy {Maisoii lU' Cainpiigne d'Horace, iii. 465) both note that the
pavement of the road was well preser\'ed in their day ; and the latter
says- (and what he says is still true, as I can testify from personal
nent along the paths in the district of
nly ; and very often Ihe only piece of
simic one of the wrilers on the topo-
more. Cecconi's work is especially
ii>t cumplete in some cases, while in
Js(.H/r,,, p.214).
from the maps-of Fabretti {:68o) and
ini (1704) does not. Holstenios (o^
' ll
ii 111 Iw nulcd, ho«evor. ihal ihe remains of paver
. »holhur in silii or in field-n.iil;. are eitiemely sea
p.v.ilive e
vi.Kiito for the antiquity of a road is ihe statement of
fi"phy 01
F V..icneslo, «ho.e «0rUs .l.ile lack a cenlurj- or
valuable i
n ihi. lesix-ci, and seems to W lru5t«orlhy. though r
others he
seems to admit the cxittoiice of loo many ancient roai
' lie
very prol,;ilily derived his knowledge of its existence
Aineti III
NJ , who mark it perfectly correctly, "hich Cingola
auv. pp.
I9j J^/-) »ho died in 1661. knew ihe truth also.
a
Classical Topography of the Roman Campagna.— I. 273
observation, having traversed the whole distance on foot) : " dans tout cet
espace qui est d'environ 8 milles ... on peut la suivre et la reconnoitre k
son pav^ m^me qu'on trouve entier par tout, hors en deux ou trois
endroits, oCi la culture n en laisse voir que les pierres eparses, & en quelques
autres ou elle a et6 d^pavde k dessein rdcemment comme dans la Vigne
Ricci." This being the case, it is surprising that no one, not even
Rosa (Bu//, Inst., 1856, 154) should have described its course correctly
since his day. Kiepert's, and all the other recent maps that I know, are
entirely incorrect, as they mark the ancient road as identical with the
modern, which runs close to Labico ^ and Valmontone,^ immediately on the
N. of the railway to Naples. The latter follows ^ the line of an ancient
road, but certainly not that of the Via Labicana.
About half a mile from Fontana Chiusa the road ascends through a
narrow defile at the top of which its pavement may be seen in situ^ on the
N.E. side of the modern cart track, for a distance of about fifty yards, the
S.W. margo being well preserved. After this point it is hidden beneath
the soil, but just after passing the site of the twenty-third milestone it
turns to run due E. Here there is an important junction of roads. One
goes on S.E., following the line to which the Via Labicana has been
keeping up till now. Its pavement may be seen on the E. slope of the
Colle Treare, but after that it descends and runs along a valley full of
* As 1 have already stated, the name Labico has only belonged to this village since 1880, up
till which time it was called Lugnano {i.e. fundus' Longianus }). Nibby identified the place with
the ancient Bola, but without sufficient grounds. The site is certainly a fine one for an ancient
city, being isolated except for a narrow neck on the W. The rock has been perpendicularly
scarped, and on the S. side is honeycombed with small caves, which may have been originally
tombs or habitations (Ficoroni, Labico, 66), or, perhaps, never served for anything else than pigsties
— their present use. Traces of antiquity are however wanting, so far as I know, and the scarping
may date from the Middle Ages, for the place is known to have belonged to the Counts of
Tusculum in the eleventh century.
* Valmontone has similarly been identified by Nibby {Analisi, iii. 369) with Tolerium, one o.
the ancient Latin cities, but without adequate reason. Its site is even stronger than that of Labico,
the rock on which it stands being isolated except on the N.W. No traces of earlier fortifications
than those of the Middle Ages are to be seen, unless the blocks of tufa used in the houses
belonged to the ancient walls, as Nibby thinks. He notes indeed that some of them seem to be
in situ, and he further remarks the existence of some remains of opus reticulatum and of a
sarcophagus of the third century used as a fountain basin. The rock on which the place stands is
full of small caves, now used as pigsties, as at Lugnano.
2 Westphal {Komische Kampagtte, 77, 81) states that he saw the ** Unterlagen" or foundation
blocks of the ancient road in the modem one between S. Cesareo and Lugnano, and pavingstones
(not in situ) E. of Valmontone. There are several in the modern bridge just to the E. of the village,
and a large number are to be seen in use in the modern pavement in front of the Osteria a little
urther on.
374
The British School at Rome.
alluvial soil, and no traces of it are to be seen. Just before the Fontanile
della Cacciata, however, there is a cutting through which it must have
passed, and the Fontanile has around it a pavement which contains some
Roman pavingstones. Beyond this point, however, none of the paths
which diverge from the fountain show any sure traces of antiquity, with
the exception of one which, going southwards, falls into the line of the Via
Ariana," and, going northwards, crosses the Via Labicana and descends by a
steep defile just to the E. of Labico station to the valley of the Sacco
(whence it is possible that it goes on towards La Marcigliana and so to
Palestrina),* and even this retains no traces of pavement, though the deep
cuttings made for it sufficiently show its antiquity. To this road belonged
the tomb whence came the roughly-sculptured sarcophagus of tufa, found
on the Colle Trearc,' and now in the Palazzo Borghesc at Artcna (described
in Not. Scav., 1890, 325). It is probable that the path which runs slightly
to the E. of this and almost parallel to it is also ancient, as it falls into the
line of the modern road which runs from Artena to Giulianello and Cori,
which from its straightness of line, and from the fact that from it again
soon diverges a straight road — first called Via del Buon Viaggio and then
Via Doganale, which joins the Via Appia at Cistema, may be inferred to
be of Roman origin.
Another road which joins the Via Labicana just after the twenty-third
milestone is that (certainly ancient) which leaves the Via Latina at the
pass of Algidus and runs due E. past the Casale Mezza Selva (close to
which it is crossed by the road described p. 270) to this point.
A third road is perhaps represented by the path which runs southwards
to the Via Latina which it reaches at the Fontanile delle Macere ; see
Chaupy, iii. 463, who however^the passage is not very clear — seems to
have traced a road from the Casale Mezza Selva to this point, but, as he
says it ran for a distance of three miles, and the distance from Fontanile
■ delle Macere to Casale Mezza Selva is much less, it is difficult to know what
he means : he may even refer to the Via Ariana and its prolongation
' The anti<iuily of Ihis roaii was proved in 1S99, hy ihe discovery of pavcmenl in lilu aJxjut
miles from \'ellelri (AV. iVar. 1S99, 33S). Il ii;a)' be noto.i [hat Kiepert (C./.l. xiv. map!
:)ni:s Itiis rvMd lo ValmcmWiie, nol 10 Laiiico— I cici niit know on whose authorily.
- See Ketiiicpie, c/. f/V. 123. Cecconi, efl. lit. p. 43, n, :o, as lo ihc anliquily of Ihis last
> The lefer.
e hill t.
e K. of the Fontanile delle Mac
fi
Classical Topography of the Roman Campagna. — I. 275
northwards ^ (p. 274). Traces of antiquity are, however, deficient, except
for a few pavingstones in the valley just to the N. of the Fontanile,
which may have come from the Via Latina, and pavingstones at the
fountain itself, which almost certainly did so.
On the S. of the Via Labicana, a little, way N.N.E. of point 364, are
some remains of opus quadratum in peperino in situ^ and a fragment of a
large cornice of the s^pie material, also some brick and remains of concrete.
These are on the hill now called the Colle Treare, but the Colle dei Quadri
is really part of the same hill. It was here that many topographers placed
the station Ad Pictas^ (Holstenius, Ad Cluveriuniy pp. 193, 195 j, while
Ficoroni placed Labici here {Labico^ passim), supposing the later
village (Ad Quintanas) to have been at Torre di Mezza Selva. He states
that it was from this place that the stones were brought to build the
Palazzo Pamfili Doria at Valmontone, and that it was from the squared
blocks (quadri) that the hill took its name. (Westphal, Rbmisctie Kant-
pagrtBy 7y, Nibby, Analisi^ iii. 375.) '^
This point is, however, only twenty-three miles from Rome, whereas the
station Ad Pictas, according to the Itineraries, is twenty-five by the Via
Labicana, and twenty-six (by which road we are not told — perhaps the
Labicana) according to Strabo ; and further it was apparently, to judge
from his expression, t^K^vtS, h\ (the Via Labicana) Trpo? to,^ Wiktol^
Kol TTfv Aarivrjv, on the Via Latina. I have therefore (p. 218) fol-
lowed the conjecture of Chaupy (iii. 463 : cf. also Nibby in the article
"Vie" in Nardini's Roma Antica/\w. 109), who puts it at the Fontanile
delle Macere. The distance from Rome is between twenty-three and
twenty- four miles by the Via Latina, and about twenty-five by the Via
Labicana.
From the Colle Treare the Via Labicana runs due E. for nearly a mile.
* If this is so, we may agree with Rosa in placing Ad Pictas on the hill to the E. of the
Fontanile delle Macere — the Colle Treare. The distance from Rome would then be 24 miles
by the Via Latina, and just over 26 by the Labicana. This agrees better with Strabo, but not with
the Itineraries.
' The Colle della Lite, on which Bertarelli {LabicOf 16) placed the site of Labici, is to be
identified with this same hill.
3 Two reliefs in marble, of late date, and several copies of the brick-stamp C.l.L. xv. 2340
were found here in 1878 {Not. Scav, 1878, 68 ; according to which C.l.L, xiv. 2987, 3324, 3382,
3399 were also found here. These inscriptions are now preserved in the Palazzo Doria at
Valmontone, and are said to have been found in 1789 in a place called La Cavalla; but this b
certainly not true of C.l.L. xiv. 3416, 3418, 3423, which are placed with them (see p. 279, n. i). In
Not. Scav. 1. c. the place is called II Monumento).
T 2
276
The British School at Rome.
It is seen crossing the path to Labico village (which is also the communal
boundary),' and the margo is actually preserved. Beyond, it can be traced
by remains of pavement and of the tufa blocks of the crepidines. It then
turns E.S.E. : the boundary line, which at first coincides with it, soon follows
a modern path which keeps some 70 yards to the S. To the N. of the
road was discovered the water reservoir known as the Grotta Mamosa, a
large reservoir with five arches in the wall dividing the two chambers.
A waterpipe was found here bearing the inscription luliae Matniae Malris
Aug. N. (generally attributed to lulia Mammaea, the mother of Alexander
Severus). See ¥\coTon\, Labico, ^. $$, C./.L., xiv. 3037 = xv. 7880. The
site is given as near I Casali in the Vigna dei Saraceni; the name Colle
della Forma may refer to the conduit which supplied it, of which
Ficoroni says that it was to be seen at the edge of the wood ^ towards
Valmontone, running towards a spring called Acqua Kuana. The
reservoir still exists in good preservation.* It i.s curious that, whereas
Ficoroni states that the pipe was placed in the Museo Kircheriano,
it is not now to be found there, while two pipes bearing the same
inscription exist at Bologna and one in Venice, the provenance of
which is unknown. The ridge of the road is clear, and in some places
the pavingstones arc exposed, while in others they are in silu, but
hidden. The name Colle della Strada, which belongs to this hill, refers
of course to the ancient road. Ficoroni (p. 33) speaks of a fine piece
of pavement existing in one of the Vigne dei Casali — the Vigna del
Buttinelli.
After a short distance the boundary Hi
N. of the Labicana again, and the former
which goes northwards to Labico station
ward, falls into the line of the Via Ariana (p. 274).
this road, on the N. side of the Via Labicana, is
and the path cross to the
Dn turns to follow a path
j which, if followed south-
On the W. of
wall of opus
quadratum about ■ 10 yards in length crossing the modern path, and
just to the N, of it a floor of hard cement, probably belonging to a water
reservoir.
' CecconI (P/. .il.
1. 8S, n. 2C)> would malic nn n
ciom road
ran along ihis path lo I Casali,
H llitncL- niirlhwiird \
La Mnrciu'lian.!. The only ul
eciioii lies
in ihe steepness of Ihc descent
lh« v.. of 1 Cn-ali.
■^ TiK- wonri lH.re I
,.■ naiiiu La C.icciata, i.i. Ihe ct
vctt or prci
erve.
» ThL- me.-i>urcnK'i.
s iiru 35 f,.ll,.ws : U>ial Icnglh.
7-66 ,n. i V
idlh 01 chambers, 3*88 ami 3-96
ipeclivolv : width uf
iiidliif; «iUl, -95 : sjiiiii or arch
s, 3-4010
■62. To the S. of Ihe reservoir.
IweL'n it'an.! Ihu m:i.
are liaCLS of the villa which it
5a,.pli..d.
Classical Topography of the Roman Campagna. — I. 277
The main road now runs on E.S.E. in a practically straight line for
more than two miles. Upon the Colle Verdone loose pavingstones may
be seen, and at one point the southern margo of the road, built of tufa
blocks. After a mile we reach a brick tomb in two stories, with a crypt
below ; it is built of late, bad brickwork. .The door, which is on the N.N.E.
side, and has jambs and lintel of stone, is r6s m. in height by 105 in
width. The lower chamber, faced with opus mixtum, measures 4*15 m.
in width by 440 in depth, and the walls are 0*58 in thickness. A little
further E. are the remains of a small church (S. Giovanni), the walls of
which are full of blocks of opus quadratum and pavingstones. The building
has loophole windows, above the last of which, on the N.N.E. side, there
is a fragment of a marble transenna of the eighth or ninth century ; a fact
of great importance, proving as it does that the road was in use up to this
date, for the church is orientated (as is the brick tomb) in correspondence
with the direction (E.S.E.) in which it is running. On the N.N.E. side of
the church are the traces of the attachment of some other building,
possibly a small baptistery.
A little further E. the pavement of the road may be seen in perfect
preservation for 150 yards. It measures precisely 4 m. in width, and the
crepidities of tufa are 0*50 m. wide. It now reaches the Casale Galeotti,
where it turns a trifle more southwards, but soon comes back to its old
direction. In the Vigna Galeotti, Chaupy copied a sepulchral inscription
{C.LL, xiv. 3009) erected in memory of a freedman, P. Valerius Mahes, who
was magister quinquennalis collegi fabrorum tignuariorum (carpenters), by
his patronus. At the site of the twenty-sixth milestone it is suddenly
interrupted by a gully of recent formation, some twenty feet in depth,
through which a path runs ; and a little further on are the remains in
concrete of a building which lay close by it, with some architectural
fragments of tufa. Paving stones (not in situ) are plentiful, and the line of
the road is perfectly clear. It now descends to the modern road from
Palestrina to Valmontone and thence to Artena, which (at any rate
between Valmontone and Palestrina) follows an ancient line, as is
clear from the existence of a cutting immediately to the E. of the
modern road just S. of the Madonna delli Cori, close to Palestrina.
Westphal {Rom, KampagnCy 81) states that he saw ancient paving in
the road. The cutting S. of Valmontone also seems to be ancient,
but further S. than this there are no traces of antiquity. Possibly from
378
The British School at Rome.
that cutting it ran S.E. to join the Via Lablcana just bciow the Colic
deltc Mura.
On the E. of the Valmontone-Artena road, the Via Labicana ascends
the slope of the Colle Pastina. Here there is a piece of pavement well
preserved in a modern cart track, and the S.W. margo, which is still in
existence, gives the direction S.E. by E. Further on there are many loose
pavingstoncs visible, until the road descends into the low ground between
the Colic Pastina and the Colic delle Mura, where all traces of it are lost.
Here was the site of the twenty-seventh milestone.' The road soon re-
ascends, being paved with broken fragments of pavingstones, and at tlie
top of the rise turns almost due E. for a little way. Here are the remains
of a small mediaeval castle which guarded the road, and further N., of
another mediaeval building.*
The road soon turns S.E- again ; the pavement is preserved; but the
stones have fallen out of place. Just before reaching the site of the Uventy-
eightli milestone it turns to run only a few degrees S. of K., and follows
the cftst of the Colle Sclicione, the name of which, derived as it is from
sclcc, is significant, and led me to search for the road here. To the S, of
the road are the remains of a vUla and some pavingstones, which may have
belon-^cd to the dL-vcrlicuIum which led to it.
Huotcvl in CI. I.
'-I
6>iS
fpj X
\l\
ad ecclesiam
ab utbe lap
U. loannis
dcm fui^
mir.^ to lhL> ch
ich
nit-i
i..iiftl
■.-■n
1>. 277, ihc 1
ileslone he
t -t.;!i-no: in i
- or
^inj
H-si
.-n
.\t Ihe Casale del Be
Oi'uli'. U-opinl
■ he
oikming ir
«.r
piioQ from a
lik-slone—
I M V
\Mys\
MAXEX
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XXIK
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-7
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■) ATA-/"-
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TV
n-j
«,(yt
nadc lo be 2j
hui I WU
i»T-~t ».»* J r.-ir
:ei-v
i-n-
TO->4
m.
in diamcler.
I was t»M
.-■ v:.:U re^M:J
<»k;r,dj
■*l»«n ih< ^
•iv" :vT.; :n -;-tf i
il
l!\-«
ne
\i<^ !*nK-
1 prolubltf)
•"-■ :--.-.:-'^S
-'■
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r" J miles at
east 10 ihe
-.- ■ N <r,.
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.1 ir
Si^:.-
s
Mch. h.^wever
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Ni
-^■S Tl
:»
ij ov^w luns.
only a lilile
k
Classical Topography of the Roman Campagna. — I. 279
Just after reaching the site of the twenty-ninth milestone the road
descends steeply by a gully, running about 40** S. of E. The pavement is
preserved to a certain extent, and the large margo blocks of tufa (090 m.
in width, one of them being 203 m. in length) are in one place preserved
on both sides, giving the width of the road at 5*55 m. (about 18 feet).
This is above the normal width (about 14 feet), but on steep ascents or
descents it was usually increased.
A few pavingstones along the crest of the Colle S. Ilario lead one to
believe that a deverticulum ran E. along the ridge, but the main road
certainly descended by the gully, and keeps just below the low cliffs along
the N. edge of the valley, a few feet above its bottom. Clearly then, as
now, the valley was subject to frequent floods.
Less than half a mile further on we reach the Catacombs of S. Ilario,
which lie in a small projecting hill of tufa, 150 yards N.E. of the "casello "
or railwayman's cottage of the line from Velletri to Segni. The
Catacombs are not very extensive, and have been entirely rifled. Some
remnants of brick on the surface of the low hill in which they are cut may
point to the existence of a church above ground. Some of the inscriptions
from these Catacombs are now preserved in the Palazzo Doria at Valmon-
tone (Marucchi, Guide des Catacombes^ 409).^ At this point a path comes
down the hill from the S.W., crossing the railway at the " casello." It is
certainly ancient. Many loose pavingstones lie by it, and it has been
much worn down by traffic since the destruction of the pavement, as the
wheelmarks in the tufa show : so that it continued in use during the early
Middle Ages. On the Colle Maiorano, where many of its pavingstones
are seen, it passes to the E. of the remains of a very large villa, and then
descends gradually to the Via Latina which is reached after a little less
than two miles from S. Ilario. There are no traces of paving except a few
loose stones at the top of the descent, but the engineering is so good, the
road being carried along the side of the hill with a uniform gradient, that
there can be no doubt of its antiquity.
Another path comes from the W.S.W. to S. Ilario along the Valle
Materna, which may be of ancient origin, and has in fact been called the
Via Latina by De la Blanchere {Melanges de ficole Franqaise, i. (1881)
p. 170 and map), who makes this branch of the road diverge from the
portion which goes on to Compitum Anagninum about two and a half
1 CLL, xiv. 3416, 5418, 3423.
28o The British School at Rome.
miles further W. than we have done, about a mile W. of the foot
of the village of Arteiia, There are however no certain traces of
the antiquity of this road. The Valle Materna being full of alluvial soil,
they would be hard to find without excavation, whereas there is no doubt
of the antiquity of the road over the Colle di Maiorano.^
As we have said, it seems clear that S. Ilario, which is just under
thirty miles from Rome by the Via Labicana, and just over thirty
by the Via Latina, is to be identified with Ad Bivium. (So Chaupy,
op. cit. iii. 465 ; cf, Fabretti, De Aqtiis, map facing p. 90, and Ameti,
map.)
Beyond this point the Via Labicana continues to skirt the edge of the
hills on the N. side of the valley followed by the railway, and some of its
pavement may be traced in situ, but not for a long distance, having prob-
ably been washed away by floods. There is a deep cutting going north-
wards through the neck between the Colle S. Ilario and the Colle Cisterna,
which seems certainly to have been made for an ancient road. Deep-worn
wheelmarks of a later date may still be .seen. About a mile further on we
reach the end of the valley, which joins that of the Sacco, and the junction
of the two railways (the old and the new) from Rome. Here all traces of
the road have disappeared. It probably crossed the Sacco and joined the
modern highroad close to the mediaeval castle of Piombinara, near Segni
station. The name according to Nibby {Analisi, iii. 52) is a corruption of
Fluminaria given to it in allusion to its position above the Sacco. He is
probably right in saying that Sacriportus, the site of the defeat of the
younger Marius by Sulla, which was followed by the siege of Praeneste
was situated here or hereabouts, but whether it was the name of a village
or merely of a district is quite uncertain. The castle, which stands on a
low hill, dates from the thirteenth century, according to Nibby. It is one
of the largest in the Roman Campagna, and its tower is so lofty as to
command a most extensive view. It was obviously intended to guard the
junction of the Via Labicana and the road from Valmontone, and the
passage of the former over the Sacco,
From this point and onwards it is probable that the ancient Via
clearly dLscriljcd.
Tcalso ciles Sorangcli (whoso MS.,
) Hi sptnking of a road which asceii
imt !.)• which are known Ihe remaii
i Monte I-orlino (ut Anena, as it
-.it islorkhf dclla terra diMcnU-Foriino,
"roin La Cacciala {p. 274) lo the N. pate
a largi: circuit of " Cyclopean " walls nn
Ck
Classical Topography of the Roman Campagna. — I. 281
Labicana is identical with the modern road, but I have not attempted
to trace it further. Chaupy {op, cit, iii. 462) says that remains of its
tombs and bridges may be seen along the road as far as the Osteria
della Fontana (Compitum Anagninum), where the ancient pavement is
preserved for some distance, and where an ancient tomb, known as
the Osteria della Volpe, still exists (Abbate, Guida della provtncia di
Roma^ ii. 414).
INDEX.
Note. — Names belonging to the classical period are in italics.
Aqua Alexandrina^ 197, 221, 225 n. ', 227,229
Angela, Tor, 168
(Casale di) 168
Anio NovuSf 203, 204, 208, 220, 243, 245, 249,
252
Anio Vetus^ 220, 222 n., 249, 250
Apolloni, Vigna, 221
Appia, Aqua, 139, 143, 144
Appia Augusta, Aqua, 164
Aragni, Vigna (Via Praenestina), 153
(Via Labicana : = Vigna Bartoccini), 222
Augusta Helena (See of), 228, 263
Bartoccini, Vigna ( = Vigna Aragni), 222
Benzone, Tenuta, 145
Bertone, Vigna, 153
Ad Bivium, 216, 217, 218, 280
Brandolini, Casale, 259
Burn, Vigna ( = Vigna Rodi), 213
Cacciata, Fontanile della, 274
Calciana, Massa, 234
Cancelletti, I, 199
Cappellette, Casale delle, 162
Le (near Monte Porzio), 244 n. ^
Le (near Colonna), 260
Carbonari, Vicolo dci, 221
Carletti, Casa, 213
Casa Calda, 231
Casa Rossa, 161
X^asilina, Via, 219, 235 sq. {passim)
Castellaccio dell' Osa, 148
Castiglione, 192, 193
S. Castulus, Cemetery of, 220
Cavallini Buonaccorsi, Vigna, 152
Cavamonte, 205, 207
^avona, Via, 176, 236, 240, 242
Cellere, Villa ( = Villa Del Grande), 226, 227
Celoni, Grotte, 240
Centocelle, Tenuta di, 227, 228
Certosa, Vigna della ( = Vigna Ojetti), 225 n. •
Cervara, Grotle di, 141
Cervellelta, 141, 143
S. Cesareo ( = Ad Statuas), 266-269
Cimmero, Lo ( = Mezza Selva, Torre di), 2700. •
Ciuffa, Casale, 255, 256
Claudia, Aqua, 203-205, 208, 220, 243, 245,
249, 252
CoUatia, 146, 147, 148
Collatina, Porta, 139
"^ollatina, Via, 1 38-149
Colonna, 235, 264
Laghetto della, 236
Osleria della, 237, 238
Railway station of, 254
Colonnelle, Le, 210
Compatri, Monte { — Labici), 235, 262
Compitum Anagninum ( =Fontana, Osleria
della), 218, 279, 281
Corvio, Casale, 245
Crispinis et Amonetis, Fundus, 245, 252
Del Grande, Villa ( = Villa Cellere), 226
Diamanti, Vigna, 222
Diavolo, Grotta del, 202
Doddo, Monte, (near Montecompatri), 252, 253,
260.
Dogali, Vicolo, 226
Equites Singulares, Cemetery of, 223
Euryscues, Tomb of, 150
Fabius Cilo (?). Villa of, 240
Falcone, Monte, 237
Festi, Massa, 252
Finocchio, Osteria del, 177, 236
Fist is, Massa, 252
Fontana Candida, Fosso di, 245, 246
Fontana Candida, Macchia di, 252, 253
284
Thk Bhitish School at Rome.
Fontnna Chiusa. 273
Fontaoa, Oslctin delln i- Comjiilwi Anai--
HfVwn). 318,381
FtHlrii, locnbof, 3»
FfUtini, Vtll«, JI3
Krocin^ Torrione, in
Cabii, I So sqq.
Ukeof. 1S0-1S2
Gnlralti, ViEnn, 177
Galllcnno, loS
Gillaro, Cninpo, 266
S, Giuvsnni (Pileslrini), 214
S. Giovanni (Via Labioann), 177
GardiaiuniM, Villa ( = Totdc' Schinvi), \%6sfq.
Grep[>i. Vigna, 1^6
tialtrii, lomb of, 33S
Jlilma, Uttuolcum of ( = Torre rignotiara), U3
.S, Hilarins, Catacombs of, 179
S. Hfaiiiihui, Church of, 254
lACOVA, T.irrc, 249-iS>
S. lUrio, Ctloeoinbi of, 179
Initr lAnu l.tttirw, iij a.
Imlia Mmmare.Yiaa.Of, a
JuHh, Cofsa--, villa of, 169
Laiiiana Via. aiJ-lSl
Tw (SMmma\ 227
Za*iV/{ = MiinleCompatri). IJJ, 256-263, 27S
QuinlaMtHSts [rtrfiMiia 2.afi.aH<yrvm
Qminlanensiuii = Ad i^intamj), 156-25S
. L!il.ico( = Li;«nano», 273
\..iliM, t'ia. 21s m-' '70 w.
l.cpri. Vign« ( = Vi(;na Servenli). 220
Liie. Ci>IIe ilclla ^ncat Totre laeoi-a). 25°
Lilc, (.■ollcdclla( = Quadri,Colle deH, 2750.'
Lombaido, I'asso del i^Pralo Loniburdol, 240
/.H,
l.f. 1
Mackkk. FoiiUnilciidlc i = .i.l />Wa,'\2iS, 2]
Mar
270
Marranello, 153, 211
Mnilini, C&sale, 265
Mas'oli, Vigna, 126
Mallei, Vigoa dei, 265
Mattia, Colle, 349, 250
Afojifruius, Villa of, 271
Maixini, Casale, 259
MelloDC, Monle, 353
Mezu Seiva, Torraccio di { = Lo CimmeTO,
Torre dei Manni), 270
Monte Compalri { = /jihici), 262, 363, 264
Monc, Vulle della, 243
Muraccio dell' Uomo, 164
. Pontedi, 171, 17:
\s Criif-iHU!, 144
Sir. Oclavius Latnas PnHtianus, 144
Oddo, Colle d' (CalesitinB). m
Ojetli, Vigna ( = CerloKi, Vigna della), 325
Olmatidi Paletlrina, 371. 272
Cm, CostclUcdo dell', 14S
Osteria dell', 176 i^.
Palestiina (
Pallavidna,
Pallott.
<U). 2.5
253
Panrano, 197
Paulina, La, 264
Passe [Tino, 202, 205
S. Pastore, 210
Ptdnm, 205
Pero, Colle del. 306
SS. P/ttr and Afarullinui, Catacombs of, 223
.W/^./dJ[ = Fonlanile delle Macere), 216, 217,
21S, 275
Pignallara, Torre ( = Mausoleum of Nelena),ia^
S. Pielro, Colle di, 213
Pigneto, Vicolo del, 1
Pioii
,.280
Pome Amalo, 209
Ponle Dirulo, 203
Pome di Nona, 171, 172
P,m:e Sardone. 114
VoMe di Terra Via Praencitinai, 201, 202
near Gallicano), 2oS
Poni Maj^iore. 150
prMni;!/ t = PalcMrina', 215
/>.:•■'.>,. .'[w J, /'.■ftj ( = Potla Magg'ore), 150
JV^n,-linj, lij, 149-215
\
Classical Topography of the Roman Campagna.— I. 285
Prata Porci, 244
Prato Bagnato, 171
Prato Lombardo, 240
S. PHmiti'vtiSy Church of, 194
Pulini, Vigna, 152
Pupiniensis vel Pupinius^ Ager^ 234
QUADRAVBRSA, Colle di, 203 n. ^
Quadri, Colle dei, 275
SS. Quathior Coronatt^ Catacomb of the, 254 n.
Ad Quintanas, 256-258, 262
Quiniianae vel QuintattenseSy Figlitiaey 230,
256 n. ^
RtgilluSy Lac us y 181, 197, 236
Rischiaro, Muraccio di, 166
Rocchi, Vigna, 152 n. *
Rodi, Vigna ( = Vigna Burri), 213
Rospigliosi, Villa, 268, 269
Rustica, Casale della, 141
SacriportuSf 280
Salomone, Monte, 235, 263
Salone, Tenuta di, 143, 171
Sanguigni, Vigna, 151
De Santis, Vigna, 225
Sapienza, Tor, 163, 175
Saponara, Grotta di, 1 78, 1 79
Schiavi, Tor de' {Gordianorum Villd)^ 156 sqq.
Sciarra, Vigna, 246
Serventi, Vigna, 152 n. \ 220
Soleti, Vigna, 215
Ad Spent Veterem^ 150
Ad Statuas ( = S. Cesareo), 267
Stella, Madonna della, 211
Sterpara, Casa, 211
Sub Augusta^ See of, 228, 263
Tende, le, 212
Torre Nuova, 232
Torre Verde, 256 n. ^
Torrone, II, 152
Tranquilli, Vigna, 210
Tre Teste, Pedica di, 161
Tre Teste, Torre di, 164
Trugli, Valle dei, 247
UoMO, Muraccio dell', 164
Valmontone, 235, 273
Vigesimo, Valle, 212
Villaume, Vigna, 15 1
Villetta (near S. Pastore), 210
Virgo^ Aqua, 139, 141, 143
Zagarolo, 235, 267
S, ZoticuSy Catacombs' of, 242
K.
Legend for the detail Maps.
Ancient Roads (certain)
.—.«... ff f, (doubtful)
oooooooo Aqueducts (certain)
n (doubtful)
m Ruins
Ancient City Walls (certain)
• •■■■•••• // M ff (doubtful)
Boundary lines between Communes
Carriage Roads
in red.
I
in red, wfien Ancient, ,
in blacli wfien Mediaeval or Modern.
in red.
Note. - In Rome the Servian Wall only
is shown in red, the Aureiian Wall in black.
tzzzzz^z.'.zr Cart Tracks
Paths
I Railways
B = Bridge
C = Church
D = Drain
F = Fountain
M = Mediaeval
P = Pavement
Q = Quarry
R = Reservoir
T = Tomb
V = ma
W = Well
o
L.
O
u
O
I-
Scales.
Natural Scale. 1:25,000,
Kilometres
'■*-'•■*
z English Mile
H % K
I Roman Mile
H H H
2
M«
'e/
J
:^/i
• •" •
□
fH
^
fl
nig
V black.
* •
...'•'
n%
di.
•:••;
/ ^
(^
• -•
I
9
KicHAKD Clay and Sons, Limiird,
LONDON AND BUNC.AY.
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